


Outlaw ½

by triviatrap1982



Category: Ranma 1/2, Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star | Outlaw Star
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:29:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9911300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triviatrap1982/pseuds/triviatrap1982
Summary: Ranma Saotome was having one of his bad days. Unfortunately for him, his world...and everything he knew about it was going to be stopped by one vindictive gnome named Happosai. His new adventures would begin as soon as he woke up...in the future.





	1. Act 1 Frozen in Time

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

Ranma Saotome was having his normal day...well as normal as it could be. He was eating breakfast quietly, and he was also angry. He was angry at Akane for blasting him off, without trying to get his side of the story...though she got it a lot slower than usual. He was also angry at Genma for trying to force him to do something he didn't want to do...which caused Genma to be in his Panda form. Ranma wasn't buying it, and promised death to Genma if he tried anything dumb. He was just generally angry this morning. He had a reason for it. Once he finished breakfast, he decided he just was going to go to school on his own. He knew there was a huge risk in getting into a fight and being late. Akane she saw he left without her. She hurried, finished, and caught up to him. He was in no mood to be arguing. 

"So...are you here to argue?" Ranma asked keeping his cool. No matter what, he still wouldn't blast another girl for any reason.

"No...I wonder where you are off to in such a hurry," Akane shot back.

"Where else would I be from 8 to 4 every day?" Ranma returned back.

"You were going to school without me?" Akane asked.

Ranma just nodded. He knew whatever he said would cause a misunderstanding (he has admitted at times that he needed to keep his mouth shut). Akane noticed his forced silence and decided that she wasn't going to set him off. She knew also full well that he didn't want to run into the Furinkan Wrecking Crew. That is a gang of fiancées who tried to get in his pants...and a gang of angry guys who just want to pummel him for having more than one fiancée...which was through no fault of his own. Of course...he also was on the lookout for Happosai...the master of the Anything Goes styles of martial arts...however; he also was known to be a vindictive pervert. Ranma they did run into Ryoga...who somehow went through Akihabara to get to the corner market. 

"How long did it take you to get a loaf of bread?" Ranma asked.

"Shut up! I still owe you a beating!" Ryoga hissed.

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma said, "you should be lead by Kodachi so you don't get so lost." 

"That...was low," Ryoga returned. "Even if true....that was just dirty." 

"Are you going to walk with us to school or stand there looking like an idiot?" Ranma asked.

"I'll walk," Ryoga said. "It's because you were so nice." 

Ranma knew he was sarcastic, but let it slide. He was trying his hardest to actually avoid any fights. Ranma knew with his luck....he would run into the usual people he had to deal with. He'd have to deal with Mousse and Kuno. Mousse and Kuno both relied on weapons to try to defeat him...and that never went over too well. Nabiki was not far behind she was looking to see exactly how much she could profit from an imminent fight. She looked around to see if the fiancée squad would look around to see who would attack first. Ryoga was just there, and he got the message that to not fight. Kuno on the other hand...didn't, and it started, right when they entered the gates. Ryoga went to the side because he wasn't going to get blamed for this one, no way. He just only wanted a loaf of bread, and he still was starving. 

"DIE, RANMA!" Kuno shouted.

"Already with this bullshit..." Ranma cursed. 

"PREPARE TO DIE!" Mousse shouted as he had trauma instruments coming from his robes. 

"Yup...it begins again," Ranma huffed. 

"Hey, there be no fighting before school!" Principal Kuno shouted. He didn't get far. Angry students had flared their Ki to warn him of death if he even thought of interfering. 

"Damn...did it get worse since the last time I was here?" Ryoga asked.

"Yup, it got worse," Ukyo said, as Mousse was sent through the wall and was knocked out cold. 

"Wow, it's a good thing I didn't even try to engage Ranma...he really didn't want to fight," Ryoga said as Kuno's body snapped a tree in two, and he was knocked out. 

"Whoa...that was way too quick for me to get bets off," Nabiki cursed. 

"Ran-chan...are you okay?" Ukyo asked. 

"Oh, Ukyo," Ranma said turning around, "I guess so." 

"Okay...we better get to class before we're late," Ukyo said shuddering. 

They got to class, and it was uneventful. Hinako was giving her lesson; while Ranma was taking notes he knew he couldn't afford to fail anymore assignments. Ranma had a gut feeling that something was going to go very...very wrong. He also had a feeling that his life was really going to be changed forever. He did fall into the spring of drowned girl....and he also was tossed into the pit of starving cats. No...this one would deal with a very perverted and vindictive gnome named Happosai. That afternoon, Ranma heard screams coming from the girls' locker room from clear across campus. He knew exactly who it was. 

"I got some lovely panties!" Happosai said happily. 

"Gotcha! Now you're going to die," Ranma said grabbing the master.

"You won't let me have my..." Happosai started. 

"Nope, not happening," Ranma said putting him down, and backing away so he doesn't get blasted.

"Wait...what's going on?" Happosai asked.

"There he is!" A girl shouted. 

"W-We can talk this out..." Happosai pleaded, knowing there was trouble. 

The girls somehow, blasted Happosai into space. Ranma was sure to get away from the situation before they even came out of the locker rooms. He knew full well if there would be a misunderstanding, he'd been next to been blasted. Still, he was on his way home when he felt the rage of Happosai about a half kilometer away. That actually sent a chill up his spine. Before he could do anything, Happosai used a technique that put him to sleep. However, in his haste, he didn't notice that there was hole there that was outfitted with a cryogenic freezer Ranma fell in and the door closed. It latched shut and froze Ranma in slowing down his body's systems. Happosai went pale. He knew he went way too far. He got away before anybody could see. However, that was to be the last time Ranma saw any of his family and friends. The timing mechanism was set that it would open on a specific date. Time did pass, and it passed a lot. The timing mechanism was about to unlock, when there was a loud rumble. the capsule was dug up by two jacks of all trades. In this future time...money was still an issue. Once the lock opened...Ranma woke up. He looked around. He spoke up. 

"What...the...hell...?" Ranma stammered. 

"That's what I'd like to know," a taller red-head guy spoke up. 

"Hey this thing was a cryogenic chamber!" The younger kid spoke up. 

Ranma looked around. He was home. However...it was pretty different. A lot of things have changed and he frowned. He had to go look around. He still had a good idea of the lay of the land. He was stopped. He didn't know what was going on, however...the danger levels here were a lot higher than angry fiancées, angrier suitors...and that vindictive Happosai. Ranma got away from the group and found the spot where the Tendo Dojo was...it's no longer there. He spoke up, wondering what was going on. 

"Damn...how long was I asleep for?" Ranma groaned out. 

"You were asleep for a long-ass time," the guy spoke up. 

"Was this spot of any importance to you?" the kid asked.

"Yeah, this was the spot of the old Tendo Martial Arts dojo, and the house that was off to the side," Ranma answered. 

"How would you know that....I thought...that...?" the kid asked.

"We better introduce ourselves," Ranma said. "Since I have no Idea who you are..." 

"Right...I'm Gene Starwind...and this is my business partner, Jim Hawking," Gene finally answered. 

"You never did answer Jim's question," Gene reminded.

"Sorry, everything here is important to me...this well...was my neighborhood," Ranma answered.

"I suppose you want to see the school you went to then..." Gene said.

"I know the way," Ranma said. 

The group went to where Furinkan High once stood. It no longer was there either. It was a spaceport where all sorts of space craft were waiting to be repaired and refueled. Ranma had seen enough to know that to his knowledge all of his friends and family are now gone for good. He stood there crestfallen hoping there would be some sort of 20th century thing he could recognize. There were none. He wanted to walk about some more, when Gene had an idea. He knew Ranma wasn't going to be open to space travel...but he had little choice but to ask him. It would be way too dangerous with criminals here...even with Ranma's martial arts skills...many of them just used weapons...that were stronger than what Kuno and Mousse could muster. 

"Is there anyplace I can go?" Ranma asked. He was now actually homeless.

"You should come with us," Gene said with a smile. 

"Wait, you got down here by rocket ship?" Ranma asked.

"We did," Gene answered. 

"That's something I have wanted to experience!" Ranma said excitedly.

"You're not upset?" Jim asked.

"I am, but at the same time, I know I'm not going home at all...time machines still haven't been invented yet." 

"That's true," Gene said. "I think that's for the better." 

"We should get going then, we leave in fifteen minutes!" Jim reminded. 

"There's one other person we'd like you to meet a little later on," Gene said. 

"Okay, but if there's any martial artists...I'd like to talk to them," Ranma then bargained.

"I think we know one...but...she's a bit harder to get," Gene warned. 

Ranma nodded. He knew that there would be a few people he would end up meeting that would really make the folks from back then sane. He also did strive to try to be the very best in his martial arts studies. He also had been through situations that in this ultra-modern era...would seem to be far-fetched. That is...he dealt with Herb, Mint, and Lime from the Musk Dynasty...he also dealt with Saffron who nearly killed everybody. There also was the Happosai induced big trouble in Nekenron, China. Throw in random Amazons that ended up getting engaged to him, either by complete accident...or Genma's double dealing. The one thing that still makes him cringe was when Ukyo's father lost his okonomiyaki cart. That still stings to this day. Still, Gene he brought Ranma aboard the Outlaw Star. Ranma looked and he still had his money. He frowned knowing full well it was a relic. 

"I suppose I can't use this anymore," Ranma said speaking up. 

"Nope, everything's electronic now...plus the currency wouldn't be useful anyway," Jim said grimly. 

"You're not gonna be out of luck for food," Gene said. "Trust me; we know what it's like to live on poverty wages."

  
Once the three entered the ship. Gilliam he was online. He was his normal self, for an AI. He was sharp-tongued at times, he was quite helpful...and also he was quite pumped. He scanned Ranma, and he was intrigued. He knew a lot about the time period, but needed Ranma to fill it in himself. Ranma turned around and he bumped into a woman who was finished getting the supplies they needed to get back to Sentinel three. Ranma knew she needed help and jumped in. Gene was busy plotting the course back to Sentinel three. Jim was helping him out. The problem now arose on where Ranma would fit in for now. Once Ranma finished, he found his way back to the bridge. He couldn't just stay standing. He had to take a seat. He was going to get to meet the woman after take off, and leaving Earth's orbit.


	2. Act 2 Ranma's First Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranma meets Melfina for the first time. However, he gets into only part of his life story. There is one part of the story he left out and that's going to cause problems later.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

Jim and Gene both had Ranma take a seat where he couldn't get injured. He buckled himself in. He remembered the science lessons on space travel. Gene looked over, and he saw that Ranma knew what to do. Gene looked to Ranma and decided to introduce him to the others a bit later. Maybe when there was no trouble on the way back. The woman saw Ranma and she decided to introduce herself to him, before she took on her duties as a navigator. She really wasn't confused to see a 20th century pig-tailed martial artist. She also figured that he got there somehow, either by magic...a Ki attack...a cryogenics chamber, or both. She spoke up and she was very friendly. She was a lot friendlier than what Ranma was used to. He was skittish, but he calmed himself down to talk. 

"Hello," she said, "let me introduce myself, my name is Melfina." 

"I'm Ranma," he answered, now at ease. 

"Gene...you were trying to hold off on this for as long as possible did you?" Jim asked. 

"Yeah, though I thought it'd been wiser if we got back home," Gene admitted.

"I think we could have introduced him before hand," Jim admonished.

"Eh, it's gonna be okay!" Gene said. "Besides...as he said, he can't go back home." 

"Wait...where is home for him?" Melfina asked.

"Well...here in Nerima, Japan...all the way back in the 20th century," Gene answered. "However, it's way too dangerous here for him." 

"Was he able to see some familiar landmarks...?" Melfina asked.

"I was," Ranma answered. "I have a feeling that a lot of others are destroyed, or are gone." 

"That's true, we can come back at a later time," Melfina suggested.

"Okay do we have everything ready?" Gene asked. 

"Not quite," Melfina said. She got to her station. 

Ranma looked and Melfina was in a tube and was in suspended animation to navigate the ship, and to help it launch. He glanced back and he blushed and turned back around. He knew exactly full well what was going on. Ranma, while he was comfortable with his own body (and even with the cursed form) he still was modest when he saw another girl naked. He also remembered the huge misunderstanding when he met Akane....that was a painful experience. Gene looked over and he saw Ranma blush. He spoke up and reassured him. 

"You won't get walloped," Gene said. 

"I won't yeah...but..." Ranma stammered.

"I think we shouldn't push the issue," Gilliam reminded. "We take off in one minute." 

"That's a good idea," Jim then actually reminded. 

"Doing diagnostics on all systems," Gilliam said, running through the systems. "All systems are green!" 

"Then let's get going back home!" Gene announced. 

Gene took off when he got the clearance to take off. Once he did, Ranma clung on tight to the seat. He really wasn't used to this at all. Still, he kept his wits to make sure he didn't pass out. After violently leaving earth's atmosphere at the speed faster than light, all was well. Gene and Jim made sure there were no Kei pirates, or no other mercenaries...or the MacDougals. The MacDougals were the worst of the worst, and Gene genuinely hated their guts. When everything was now normal and stable, the course for Sentinel three was plotted. It would take a couple of weeks to get back home at their current speed, and they had good fuel and supplies to last that long. Ranma on the other hand he looked out. After, Gilliam took over the duties for Melfina, and that allowed everybody to get some sort of rest. Gene did show Ranma to where he'd be sleeping. 

"I'm kind of used to this," Ranma said bluntly. "My old man was too cheap to even get a plane ticket to China." 

"I hope you didn't stow away on a boat, or something," Gene said genuinely concerned.

"I wish," Ranma said. "We swam from Japan all the way to China..." 

"Okay, he's lucky he's not here," Gene said. "I'd have ended him myself." 

"I guess I should tell you my story then," Ranma said. 

"Yeah, first I got to get you something to eat..." Gene reminded. "Even now you'll waste away." 

Gene went to get Ranma some food. He was in the kitchen when he smelled what was coming out of it. Melfina was already on doing cooking the meal; she was making rice and chicken with curry. Still Gene made sure there was enough made for four people. Ranma was resting because he has been through quite a lot. He also ended up on his first space craft ride. That took a lot of energy out of him. When the food was ready, Jim came and got Ranma, and led him to the galley. There, Ranma sat next to Jim, but across from Gene. Melfina served everybody. She was already dressed back up, and she really was cute. Though, Ranma still managed to be a lot nervous around her. 

"What's the matter?" Melfina asked. 

"I promised I'd give you a rundown on my short life," Ranma answered. 

"Wait, you're only how old?" Gene asked.

"I'm sixteen," Ranma answered bluntly. 

"Well...I suppose we should eat first, and then get the ugly business out of the way," Gene suggested.

"That's the first sensible Idea you had in a while," Jim teased.

"Hey! I had other sensible ideas!" Gene protested. 

Ranma ate, and he noticed that Gene and Jim and a relationship like any normal siblings. After they ate, Melfina cleaned up. Ranma helped her clean up. He started telling his story about his life. Jim and Gene listened in. Ranma then talked about the ten year training journey that barely had him pass middle school. Gilliam listened in and he was now able to put together the information about Ranma's life. Ranma then got to the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. Gene at this point had an objection...it wasn't epic, but the point still stood. Jim also was skeptical about where this was going. Gene, however, was the first one to speak up. He really had to ask the obvious question. 

"Wait a second...a place like that existed...and you fell into some water...and turned to a girl?" Gene asked.

"Anybody got cold water?" Ranma asked.

"I do," Melfina said. "What do you want me to do?" 

"Just pour on my head," Ranma requested.

"Okay, here goes," Melfina said. 

"Yeah...this is what happens," Ranma said, now in his girl form. 

"That's not...?" Jim started.

"That ain't dark magic, that's legit sprigs...to turn back, I just need only hot water," Ranma answered.

"Yes," Gilliam said, "there were a lot of springs dating back thousands of years." 

"The problem is," Ranma continued, "while there is a known cure...I doubt the springs exist."

"That is correct," Gilliam answered. "The Chinese government bulldozed the springs in the early 2000's." 

"I have a feeling the Chinese Amazons fled...they're not going to stay where they're not welcomed," Ranma said tersely. 

"That also is correct, the Chinese Amazons, and the Musk Dynasty had fled China to other parts of the world," Gilliam finished. 

Gene was convinced. Jim also was convinced. Ranma helped Melfina finish cleaning up. That is, not before she splashed him back with hot water to return him to his normal self. Ranma then continued his story on how he had so many fiancées at one shot. He admitted that he engaged a Chinese Amazon on accident, but it still stood. The rest was actually the workings of Genma who sold his marriage rights for rice and two pickles. Gene he frowned. Jim groaned. Both felt exactly as Ranma felt. Melfina felt that was beyond mean for Genma to do that, and to try to force him with a girl he probably didn't like. After, he told of his adventures where he almost always was in a life, or death situation...or just was in dumb situation. Gene he was crestfallen to see this kid been through a lot. 

"Well...that definitely is a rough life," Gene said. 

"I got used to it," Ranma said. "I am guilty of causing some of my trouble because I run my mouth too much." 

"I'm the same way," Gene said. "I have a problem with one thing however." 

"What's that?" Ranma asked. 

"Were there any lost boys?" 

"Oh yeah...Ryoga Hibiki...I knew him when we were in middle school," Ranma started. "He's a good marital artist...but...he has a shit sense of direction." 

"I kind of figured so," Jim said. 

"He got drowned in the spring of pig...and took advantage of that," Ranma announced.

"Like a huge...?" Jim started.

"Nope," Ranma stated, "he turns to a cute black piglet...that can snuggle into a woman's bosom when she's sleeping." 

"Well, that sounds like a certain..." Jim started. 

"Finish that sentence...i triple dog dare you," Gene warned. 

"Okay that's enough," Melfina said firmly. 

"I think it's for the best I stop right here," Ranma offered.

  
Gene and Jim both got the hint and quieted down. It is obvious that Gene didn't want to carry on. He also knew that Melfina would not forgive him at all. Little did they know...their straight trip would be interrupted by one angry Catarl Catarl. She would be waiting at the half-way point because of an incident that happened a while ago. There was one thing that Ranma wished he was able to get out. That was his deathly fear of cats...thanks to Genma...for teaching him the illegal cat fist technique. They would be arriving on Blue Haven in a few days, and it would actually make for one of the roughest meetings Ranma has ever had in his life...in the past, or the present.


	3. Act 3 Cat Fist Havoc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene finds out fast about of a bit of information that would cause him to witness for himself...and for a couple of unlucky guys to actually experience it.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

It has been a week, but they have arrived to the space port of Blue Heaven. One they landed, a lot of the work needed would take at least a day. From there, Ranma would be free to explore. Gene decided to stay with him, while Melfina and Jim went to get specific castor shells. Gene had a special blaster that could cause serious damage, not only to himself, but also to others. The castors bluntly can drain life force from the user to the point of death. Gene did want to get to know Ranma just a little bit more. He seemed like he had a rough life. Ranma saw Gene take deep breaths, and keeping calm. Starwind did have a nasty fear of space, but he has been trying to get over it. Ranma spoke up directly. 

"Let me guess," Ranma started. "You have a deep fear of space?" 

"Yes, though the reason why may seem to be rough," Gene said, he was trying to keep it from going off the rails. 

"Wait a second...did your old man pass away?" Ranma asked.

"He did," Gene said. "In fact he passed when trying to protect me when I was a kid." 

"Okay," Ranma answered nodding, "it seems that your father is the direct opposite of mine." 

"Well, I wouldn't think your father is all bad you know," Gene said. 

"Unless you were dropped into a pit of starving cats for the sake of martial arts..." Ranma started.

"Wait! What did he do?!" Gene asked out of pure surprise.

"See, my old man...he taught me the Cat Fist technique...had he turned the page in the manual...he'd had not done so," Ranma said.

"He taught you an illegal technique then," Gene said realizing everything.

"Yes, so if I see a cat...my fear becomes so bad..." Ranma started.

"Then, we better steer clear of the Catarl Catarl then," Gene warned. 

"What...?" Ranma asked confused.

"Right, since you were frozen a lot has happened," Gene spoke up. 

"Oh...you're telling me there's a race of giant cats?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, I am," Gene spoke up.

They continued to walk around Blue Heaven. Ranma liked this to Akihabara, Japan. There was a lot to do...and everything was very expensive. That is, he knew he would have to hurry to get himself some sort of work so he could eat. Gene saw his worry and decided he'd best take him on the team. That way he could have some sort of job. Still Gene felt that Ranma was going to be in some sort of trouble. He was looking around to see if there were any bounties that needed to be made. He frowned when a lot of the bounties were crowded out, or they were claimed and the cases were closed. Gene he sighed, but he knew he had to do something. 

"You know...this is the life of an outlaw," Gene said. "Some times we hit big and other times..."

"It's sometimes just not worth it," Ranma returned. 

"You know...I think we can make some money...." Gene said.

"That would require something to go in our favor," Ranma returned. 

Gene was thinking when Jim and Melfina came back. They were able to make some money doing some side ventures. It was enough to split among four people. Before they could celebrate...Ranma felt the hair on his neck stand up on his neck. That meant one of two things...an angry member of the Nerima Wrecking Crew...though that couldn't be it. As far as he knew, everybody he knew was long passed on. That leads into possibility B. He already knew there were cats in this time, and well...he also knew about the Catarl Catarl thanks to Gene's explanation. He tried to keep cool, though he had a nervous...yet maniacal laugh. 

"W-What's going on?" Melfina asked concerned.

"There's a Cat nearby," Gene said gravely.

"Who's afraid of a common cat?" Jim asked.

"Ranma is...his old man taught him an illegal technique called the Cat Fist if I remember," Gene answered.

"How can a martial arts technique be illegal?" Jim asked.

"Well, being thrown repeatedly in a pit of starving cats with tuna and cat food strapped would cause anybody to be crazy," Gene figured out quickly. 

"C-Can we hurry away from here?" Ranma asked. 

"That's not such a bad idea," Gene said. 

"Let's go...and if you see a Catarl Catarl...just run," Gene warned. 

"O-Okay let's go," Ranma said.

They went on about their way. Ranma knew they were being followed. Ranma was still clutching on to his backpack as well. The only things in there were his school books, and the Cat Fist manual. He was looking at how to activate it at will, instead of getting extremely to the edge...and being pushed to the edge. They only made it to a corner, when an angry Catarl Catarl came by. Ranma immediately was paralyzed with fear. His body just shut down. He couldn't run like Gene instructed. He was going blank, and well...this is when all kinds of hell broke loose. He stuttered and stammered. He knew from instinct....and having the cat fist activated that there was one possibility. He didn't get set off by cat hairs. He got set off by cats. He was going to be facing a cat girl who was just angry at Gene for the events that happened on the way to earth. That also included being demoted to a lowly position in the Catarl Catarl military despite her rank. 

"We meet again," an angry feminine voice said. 

"Okay...what's going on this time?" Gene asked. 

"What should we do about him?" Jim asked.

"He's gone frozen in fear," Melfina said.

"Ah one frozen in fear..." The woman said. She threw off her coverings and she revealed herself. 

ROWR! 

"What's the hell is going on?" The woman asked. 

"I think we're about to see something...bad," Gene said. 

He wasn't kidding. Ranma was on all fours and he was growling and hissing at the Catarl Catarl. He was reared back ready to attack. Gene knew that this one would be very dangerous. Melfina had an idea. She gently called for Ranma. She knelt, as he came to her. He let her pet his head and she smiled. Ranma was calmed down purring. The Catarl Catarl was not exactly amused; Gene knew that if Ranma attacked, that would have caused a scene. He also knew that somehow Ranma would forget where he was. He also fast figured that this angry cat woman would just straight out kill him. After, Gene looked up and he frowned and demanded the Catarl Catarl answer up. 

"Aisha, is it....are you still pissed off about what happened on our way to earth?" Gene asked.

"Yes..." Aisha answered. "I'll have my revenge now that..." 

"Blue Heaven still doesn't have a moon," Gene spoke up. 

"Damn it," Aisha cursed. 

"Hey, he's coming too!" Jim said. 

"Don't try to kill him..." Gene spoke up. 

"I won't...yet," Aisha said. 

"Don't be an ass," Gene said. 

"Where am I?" Ranma spoke up. 

"You're still here, though...you are kind of..." Jim said.

"Oh damn!" Ranma saw and freaked out.

"Ranma....they're a pair of tits," Gene huffed. 

He carefully got up. Though once he saw Aisha, he frowned. This woman was the one that nearly caused a scene. Aisha returned a glare. Ranma by seeing her was strangely not going back into being triggered. He knew he'd have a lot more to deal with when he got home...where ever home was. He looked to Gene who knew who exactly who this one was. Gene sighed and had to introduce them. Of course, Ranma got the feeling that she was violent, childish, powerful, and kind of slow on the uptake. He groaned. He flashed back to when he first met Akane, and how well that turned out. Aisha heard her stomach growling. She really cursed that they didn't give her enough cash to get even a cheap fast food meal. 

"Damn...I...didn't even think to pack a lunch..." Aisha said quietly. 

"I think I have an idea," Ranma said. 

"Wait...how are you not afraid of her?" Gene asked.

"I don't know...I'll have to look that up," Ranma said. 

"What...he's afraid of...?" Aisha started.

"Stow it," Gene said. "Trust me...if you hear his story...the hair on your neck will stand up." 

"Wait did you figure how he's afraid of cats already?" Jim asked.

"Yes...I actually didn't have to prod to figure it out." 

Ranma looked and found cold water. He slashed himself and came out in the busty girl form. Aisha saw and she turned scared of Ranma! However, Ranma didn't know that he was going to get triggered again. He looked to the nearest food stall, and there were Catarl Catarl there. They were laughing and joking. Though...they knew they could since Aisha was off on her own by orders of the military. They didn't know that Ranma was there...and this time he didn't have Gene to hold him back. They were talking when they heard loud growling and snarling. They thought it was some alley cat. It was Ranma in his girl form....and he attacked violently. The futuristic weapons proved to be a challenge for him to dodge. 

"HEY WHO LET THIS CRAZY OUT?!" one of the officers asked out of surprise. 

"I don't know but this one is making it hard for us to defend ourselves!" the other said. 

"Don't just stand there!' The first ordered. 

"I can't get a good aim!" the other protested. 

Ranma knocked the guns from their hands and he continued to give a violent fight. Gene and the others came and saw what was going on. Melfina was shocked, as was Jim. Aisha just had a smile on her face. She got the story from Gene, but still didn't believe it. Melfina snapped out of it for long enough to call Ranma back. Though it was too late, he took down two fully grown Catarl Catarl officers. However, their misfortunes were multiplied when Aisha was over them. They knew they were in deep trouble. While she was stranded on Blue Heaven...and they were on this rock...they still had to follow her orders. She still outranked them. 

"Wow...I never seen him go crazy like that," Jim said.

"Yes...now you know why the Cat Fist is illegal," Gene said.

"Illegal my eye!" the first Catarl Catarl officer spat. 

"Stow it," Aisha hissed, "You two better get out of here before I let him finish the job." 

"You heard her!" the second one said getting up gathering his things quickly.

"W-we can say that we got into a fight with a street rough!" The first quickly planned and he got his stuff. 

The two went away. Aisha looked over and Ranma needed to snap out of the cat fist. This time, it was crucial. Once Saotome came through...he got the news from Melfina that he got triggered. Thankfully they were away from any of the food stores. Ranma then adjusted and went to work. Of course he learned how to use his girl form for his advantage. He just wasn't sure how it would play out. As it turned out...it just was effective now as it was then. The food vendor didn't see Aisha. She stayed hidden so he couldn't freak out and accuse Ranma of anything. Instead he gave Ranma some food for the five of them, for no charge. He returned back to the group, and spoke up. Though, he had hot water poured on him. 

"Thanks," Ranma said, "that turned out to be easy." 

"Wow...so you got free food using the girl form?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah, it's a cheap move, but valid," Ranma said. 

"Well...I'll be honest," Gene said. "I'd rather fall in the spring of drowned girl...it's a lot less dangerous than the other ones." 

"So you would take advantage?" Jim said. 

"Yes," Gene said, "I would." 

"It's dangerous if he comes to a hot springs and they want him in the water with them," Melfina spoke up.

"That really is true," Ranma said. 

"What's all these relics?" Aisha asked.

"Ranma was frozen and was put to sleep," Gene said. "We found him at space port Nerima last week." 

"He lived there?" Aisha asked.

"He did," Gene said. "He recognized two important landmarks...the school there was moved to make way for the space port."

  
The five ate their food that Ranma procured. After, they returned back to the Outlaw Star. The repairs were made, and it has taken a lot less time for them to do it. Gene was still wondering about the people in Ranma's past. He knew he'd get the answers; he just didn't want to push right now. Aisha came in. She frowned, and she wasn't going to be left behind. There was new seat in the front where Ranma could sit. That actually made things a lot more interesting. Aisha sat off to the side where Ranma previously sat. Once they were ready, and all the supplies back were pre-loaded, they were ready to go. Once they took off, and Gilliam had the course down...Jim put it on auto pilot. Gene was happy to get home. He still was not thrilled he hadn't found a job, but those were days that came. Ranma was in the quarters meanwhile and he heard a knock on the door. It was Aisha. He didn't freak out. He was looking into the Cat Fist manual on how to trigger it on his own terms. He felt, eventually the best way to do that was to face his fear of cats. Aisha is a gigantic cat girl...so she's the perfect example.


	4. Act 4 Aisha's Unorthodox Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranma receives help and an offer to learn the Catarl Catarl arts from Aisha. Though this would be his first step in not freaking out and snapping into a cat for every five minutes. Also, Ranma realizes something that he would probably be useful in this adventure after all.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

Ranma was in the quarters when he saw Aisha come in. He was in the book trying to figure out how to trigger the Cat Fist technique on his own. He knew a few techniques, and he learned some, from Cologne, the elder of Shampoo's Amazon village. He also was aware that Aisha shared most of the physical qualities of the purple-haired Amazon. For example, she's quite tall, she's quite built, and well...she was rather busty and beautiful. Aisha was aware that she had her negative traits, like being sometimes psychotic, is very much boastful, and childish. Still she came in and she looked over Ranma. She wasn't sure rather to sit with him, or to try to have fun with him. He looked up, but he didn't freak out. He found the answer he was looking for, and it was because Melfina got him out of the feline-induced psychosis. 

"Well, did you find your answers?" Aisha asked. 

"I did," Ranma answered flatly.

"Hey! Don't get upset with me!" Aisha snapped. 

"Forgive me if I'm not exactly in a happy mood," Ranma returned.

"Is that the manual for the Cat Fist?" Aisha asked.

"Yes, I got this from my old man to try to find a cure for it, or at least control it," Ranma answered.

"You could at least try to get over your fear of cats," Aisha said. "There's a lot more Catarl Catarl where those guys came from." 

"That's what I'm afraid of...aren't they usually...you know...stronger than that?" 

"We are," Aisha said, "though...we take our beatings just the same." 

"I can tell you there's a reason why this move is illegal," Ranma pointed out.

"I does it have to do with that psychosis that people go through after the abuse?" 

"Exactly...I'd have loved cats if I didn't get tossed in a pit of them." 

"Then...if I were to go back to your time period...your father would meet his maker." 

"I wouldn't go that far, but I've not let up on him for that," Ranma returned. 

Aisha sat down and saw that he was trying to learn to at least control it. Aisha had a plan. She wasn't sure it was going to work. She also wanted Ranma to be able to be able to not slip into the cat fist every five minutes either. While it may seem cute the first time...she realizes that it's annoying to Ranma. She rushed to her quarters to get her manual of the martial arts the Catarl Catarl uses. She herself had to be taught these martial arts moves, and it was incredibly hard. She also made sure that everything in her manual was correct. While it wasn't being tossed into a pit of angry Catarl Catarl...she surely wasn't going to put him through that kind of abuse. She came in and handed him the manual. She made sure to have it translated. She handed him the manual and spoke up. 

"I figured you can use this since you may study martial arts," Aisha said.

"Wait, there's that many more branches of Martial Arts?" Ranma asked.

"Of course, we Catarl Catarl had our own version of the martial arts passed down from our ancestors," Aisha said. "It's going to be tough, but if you want to learn it..." 

"Are you decent?" Ranma asked.

"I am," Aisha said. "This will be just only step one for you." 

"Thanks, you know you're not so bad!" Ranma said appreciatively. 

"You're welcome," Aisha said happily. 

"Now we just have to find a place to practice without causing damage," he said thinking about the battles he had back home. 

"Don't worry we got a long ways to where we're going," Aisha said. 

Ranma studied the Catarl Catarl manual. It seems they too have somehow heard about what to do in cases like Ranma's. Their solution was pretty clear. A gradual reduction in whichever fear was crippling. Ranma studied the manual in deep thought. Aisha read through the cat fist manual, and she got to the page where Genma failed to turn. She shook her head. She set that manual down. Ranma placed the book away and he just yawned. Outside of helping taking inventory, cleaning, or cooking....there was not much else to do. Aisha yawned. Ranma placed everything in his backpack, only to find her sleeping on his bed. He shrugged his shoulders and would try to sleep on the floor. Gilliam stopped him.

"Young Ranma," Gilliam said, "You can't sleep on the floor in here." 

"Oh..." Ranma said, "I get why now." 

"If it's a problem to share a bed with a woman, then you should find other quarters to sleep in," Gilliam suggested. 

"If only you knew why I have the good sense to not share a bed with a woman," Ranma said. 

"This wouldn't happen to be linked to you fiancée problem would it?" Gilliam asked.

"It does," Ranma said. "Let's go in the hall so we don't disturb." 

Gilliam followed Ranma out into the hall. Ranma started his story to Gilliam. He knew Akane was a sweet girl, however, she got jealous big time. Even when they had a tender moment, it just was thwarted by their fathers...or by the Wrecking Crew. Gilliam understood why Ranma didn't want to be in the same bed with Aisha. He felt that if Gene, or anybody else, walked in...they would misunderstand and it would all go downhill from there. He was tired and he couldn't sleep in the hallway, or the cargo hold, or on the bridge. He had to take his medicine, and sleep in quarters. Once there, he lay next to Aisha and fell asleep. Gene came by to wake them up because it was time for dinner. Ranma didn't know his head was planted right in Aisha's boobs and well...when he and Aisha woke up. It got awkward. Gene just walked away. Ranma and Aisha hurried to try to clean themselves up. After, they came to the galley where they both blushed. Gene spoke up, he's been in this situation before, and decided it wasn't the best idea to tease them. 

"It's okay Ranma," Gene said. "You really don't have to be embarrassed." 

"I'm not going to hurt you," Aisha said. "It's my fault for sleeping in the same bed as you..." 

"It's okay," Ranma said, realizing that she didn't freak out. 

"Wait, is this the first time you've bedded with a woman and not had a freak out?" Aisha asked. 

"Yeah...even in my girl form that was shaky at best," Ranma answered. 

"Ranma, you really can't get any satisfaction can you?" Gene asked.

"Not really," he answered, "but whatever victories I take 'them." 

"That's life in a nutshell," Gene said. 

Ranma decided he was going to change the subject. Gene saw that Ranma actually smiled. He was the kind of person who had shit come his way, but he also was the kind of person who also tried to find the good in everything...if he was able to. With him dealing with Happosai, and others...that really caused him to question things. Melfina came by and smiled. She served the food. She didn't make the same things twice. She made a pot of pasta, and served everybody. Ranma wasn't particularly romantic of flirtatious. However, he did realize attractive girls when he saw them. He had his first example in Melfina. She did remind him of Kasumi in that she helped to do the house cleaning. Ranma wasn't opposed to that, but he also decided he was going to make sure that she would get some help. Aisha reminded him of Shampoo. While Shampoo dunked herself in the springs of drowned cat....Aisha is a cat. She was powerful and strong, and offered to help him out in the martial arts...and to help him trigger his Cat Fist when he wanted to. She also is very attractive, he couldn't deny that, and she didn't try to blast him into space when they did nap together. This actually was going to turn out to be alright for Ranma. He actually was a lot more relaxed...and he spoke up so. 

"You know...I need to calm down and relax," Ranma said. 

"We all do," Gene said with a smile. 

"Well, we don't have anything in our way just yet..." Jim said. 

"We still should be on our guard," Gene warned. 

"That's true," Ranma said. 

"Hey, is there anything else to do here?" Aisha whined. 

"If you want to be on the bridge with me for watch, then be my guest," Gene said. 

"Never mind," Aisha said defeated. 

"Okay everybody, food's ready," Melfina said sweetly.

"Wait, an actual dinner?" Aisha asked.

"Yup," Ranma said, "if we can make enough money this will be a daily thing." 

Aisha was sold. Ranma smiled as Melfina served everybody. They ate actually happily. They did go back for seconds. The pasta was gone, so there were no leftovers and no waste. After, Ranma went to the stock room to meditate. He needed some sort of thing to calm down. He peeked over and he saw Jim take inventory. He knew he would probably have to get out of the way, since he was blocking everything. This kid didn't already know and took it like nothing happened. Ranma looked. A kid like this likely would have made Furinkan High one of interesting place. He knows exactly what goes where, and how much is left. That part was thanks to Gilliam. Jim looked and saw him

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," Jim said apologizing.

"Nah it's okay," Ranma returned. "I was here because there's no room in quarters." 

"Well, Gilliam helps me out a lot," Jim said. "So I don't have to worry about much." 

"How old are you exactly?" Ranma asked.

"I'm only eleven," Jim answered honestly.

'He's done a lot for such a short time,' Ranma thought. 'At least he can keep things in order.'

"Oh hey, Gene needs us on the bridge!" Jim remembered.

"I'll be right up!" Ranma said.

Ranma and Jim ran to the bridge and took their seats. They came to a secondary asteroid field. This seemed familiar to Gene. The long way around was safe, however, the middle way was faster. There was a danger, as the asteroids have taken out ships before. Even with their secondary missile systems...these asteroids were a lot larger than what Gene had dealt with. He needed advice and fast. Ranma spoke up. While it wasn't a sexy idea, even he knew when to play safe. In the times he did, it actually worked out for the best. Jim even saw what Ranma was thinking and well, he had to speak up for what Ranma was thinking.

"We will have to go around," Jim said.

"Yeah we'll get clobbered if we go straight through," Aisha said.

"So there's nothing in the weapons that can help us out?" Gene asked.

"That'd be like getting flicked with a grain of rice," Ranma said. "It just won't work." 

"Ah well, the disadvantages of a grappler," Gene said. "To think of it...it would be foolish to fire off in there." 

"Gilliam, how many wrecks are there in this system?" Jim asked.

"To date, there have been about 120 wrecks...will Gene make it 121?" Gilliam returned.

"We're going around, but we'll still have to be careful," Gene ordered.

Melfina and Gilliam made the co-ordinates to go around the asteroids. Once that was done, they were safe. It did take a few hours. While everybody else went elsewhere, Ranma stayed on the bridge. He looked out the window. He was very impressed by the stars, and he also was very impressed by how much color the sky had. He actually stayed here for a couple of hours, until Gilliam took Ranma out of his trance. This was something that Ranma thought wouldn't be possible...however, he actually got used to it. He actually would have loved to have been an astronaut had his grades been a little better. Still, he perked up when he heard Gilliam.

"Ranma, the others have gone to get some sleep," Gilliam said.

"I'm sorry," Ranma said, "I just am looking at the view through the windows." 

"It is a beautiful view isn't it?" Gilliam asked.

"It is, I can get used to adventures like this," Ranma said happily. 

"Go get some rest," Gilliam ordered. "You'll need all your strength." 

Ranma left the bridge and he went to find some quarters to sleep in. He went to his familiar room. It was empty. Aisha must have found some place to sleep. He shrugged his shoulders and he lay down. As soon as he was down, he was asleep. She came into his room and lay down with him. There was no way she was going to sleep where she wanted to. It just was too cramped. The second reason...she just wanted to be close to Ranma was all. Little did Ranma know...he was going to meet a woman who just was going to be the near death of him...and this will happen with one phone call from a certain camp entrepreneur.


	5. Act 5 Camp Luo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene has a job from Fred Luo, a rather camp Weapons dealer...who has a lot of connections. Unfortunately, he has an assassin after him who's trying to kill him. He needs the crew's help to help overcome the assassin....and Ranma will be be forced to break one of his most sacred rules.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

Back on Retinal Three....the gang was there doing house work. It was boring. Most of the jobs they were getting were nickel, and dime jobs. Ranma was outside training in the martial arts with Aisha. It was hardcore training. She was a lot faster than he was, and he had to figure a way to get up to her speed. He didn't like to lose. He was getting better. Aisha noted that he wasn't going to give up for anything. She was going to turn up the heat. She noticed the Cat Fist now was being controlled by Ranma doing the Catarl Catarl arts. There was one time where she was forced to get into her white tiger form to make Ranma get used to cats. While it may have seemed like a bad idea...it worked. Ranma was fast getting over his fear of cats, and he was controlling his fear using it to his advantage. There was a call that Gene got and he did groan. He knew who it was based on the camp voice. 

"Fred, what is it?" Gene asked.

"Gene, I need your help," Fred said seriously.

"Okay, is this something that would require four people?" Gene asked.

"Y-Yes it does?" Fred answered. 

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Gene said. 

"Please do my life is on the line..."

"Well see if we can be there within a day." 

"You're such a doll!" Fred exclaimed and hung up.

"What was that?" Jim asked.

"We have a job for Fred..." Gene said. "He says his life is in danger." 

"What, what's he done this time?" Jim asked.

"I don't know but we have to get going right away," Gene said. "We'll need to hurry to make sure to get to him in a day or two." 

"We can make it in a day if we plan out now," Jim said. "That means no liquor for you." 

"You're no fun," Gene teased.

Jim rolled his eyes and went to get everybody. Gene told everybody what the job was. Ranma had a feeling he might be seeing something that would be more scary than any cat he's faced. He had no idea he was going to help face off with an elegant ronin who has killed before. He didn't know who it was...but his gut feeling told him he'd have to be on his guard. Jim had everything, including the travel plan finished. He spoke up and declared that they had to get going immediately if they wanted to make it to Fred's within a day or less. The thing that really was getting to Gene was who would really want to end Fred's life. Ranma still got a gut feeling, and Gene had to give him an answer. There was no way Ranma would go into this blindly. 

"You want to know who our next client is." Gene asked.

"Yeah that would help," Ranma said.

"His name is Fred Luo...he's a good guy...but is a bit of a loony sometimes," Gene said.

"He deals in weapons doesn't he?" Ranma asked.

"He does," Gene said, "he wouldn't be well known if he didn't." 

"Is he..?" Ranma started.

"He's also a bit camp if you catch my drift," Gene answered.

"Oh, well...that explains everything," Ranma said straight up.

"Well, not quite..." Gene returned. "There's a lot more that needs to be seen." 

"What are we waiting for?" Aisha called. "Let's go already!" 

"We don't need to get supplies, we have some left over from our trip," Gene said. "We also finished doing the laundry." 

"Well, I guess we might meet some friends of yours," Ranma said.

Gene nodded. They did make their way to the space port, to the Outlaw star where things were very much in good order. Once everything was together, and the systems were go, they made their way to Fred Luo. He is a weapons dealer...however, he's a bachelor, and rather camp. It took about three and a half days to get there. They finally made it to Fred's office that was happy to see them. He knew that Gene wouldn't be this late without a reason. If anything, Gene would damn ear break the light barrier to get to a job if it was a big hit. This job to save his life would be a very huge hit. 

"Fred, you wouldn't call me out of the blue that seriously," Gene said. "So it's either you need me to do something major, or menial." 

"This is beyond major, have you heard of Twilight Suzuka?" 

"I have...she's the assassin who has left a lot of death and destruction," Gene said.

"Yeah, it's said that those who saw her smile...didn't survive to tell about it," Jim said remembering.

"So what is she after you for?" Gene said. 

"I don't know," Fred answered. "You'll help me out would you?"

"Yes...first I need to know what she looks like," Gene admonished. 

"Here's her profile," Fred said. 

"Whoa....she looks like somebody who means business," Ranma said.

"She does," Gene said. 

"He's right," a feminine voice said. All turned around and it was her. 

It was Twilight Suzuka. She was in the traditional garb of her Kimono and wooden sandals. She had her bokken drawn ready to do damage to Fred. Gene jumped in and he had to stop her from causing trouble. Of course, everybody else took cover. Ranma knew he had to stay out of the way. While he has been in with throw downs with things that would kill untrained people...under trained people, he realized that would be walking into a situation that would get him killed. Gene and the bodyguards had to throw down against Suzuka...who promptly disabled them to prevent them from using any of their attacks. After that, she just fled. She was hired to kill Fred, however she was unsuccessful. After that...everything was cleaned up, and Gene decided it would be wise to get to work right away. Gene also knew he'd have to fess up to Ranma on how he figured things out against him earlier. 

"Ranma..." Gene started taking him aside. 

"I was wondering, how you knew so much about be anyway?" Ranma confronted. 

"It was two things, you telling about yourself...and research out of pure boredom for the parts you left out," Gene admitted.

"That's reasonable," Ranma said. "I neglected to ask anybody about the time travel."

"It's an incredibly easy answer," Gene said. "For all the space travel we have, we haven't perfected it yet." 

"If it was perfected, it'd been illegal," Ranma returned. 

"Yes...I think there's something about screwing with the time line and creating paradoxes." 

"Now, let's go find this Twilight Suzuka..." Ranma started.

"She's not exactly like Aisha...she actually will kill you standing...with a sadistic smile," Gene warned. 

"I just hope I don't have to fight her..." Ranma said. 

"You won't fight another woman even when...?" Gene asked.

"Exactly," Ranma said, "that ain't my style." 

Gene understood where Ranma was coming from. Ranma also knew that he would be pushed into this situation should it arise...and he can't run away. He had to figure a plan to not fight, but came up with nothing. Aisha and Melfina decided they'd be wise to stay back to make sure if Suzuka comes back they could be ready. Ranma, Jim, and Gene had decided to go out on the town to think things through. Ranma knew if he got separated, he'd get into a situation that he'd not want to get into. Without proper weapons training...Ranma would be toast. These weren't exactly forces that he's dealt with before. This was a different time and his martial arts skills just weren't going to cut it. Unfortunately, Suzuka found them and split through the car. It was worse because it was a rental. She saw Ranma, and decided to try to take him out. She assumed he worked for Luo. This caused Ranma to have to run away. While this had been any ordinary guy...he wasn't going to rush recklessly. In fact, he didn't even have a rudimentary weapon to take out twilight Suzuka, or at least disable her. 

"Why are you chasing me?!" Ranma demanded.

"You're working for Fred Luo," Suzuka said matter-of-factually. 

"You're nuts, lady!" Ranma protested. "You'd fight with an unarmed guy!"

Gene came right away with Jim. That gave Ranma a chance to duck away. He certainly would have died had he tried to take her on just as is. Ranma decided that this was an emergency, and he did not want to be running away from this problem forever. He formed a plan and he went back out. He didn't want to fight Suzuka, but he also didn't want her to bring harm to anybody else. He remembered his move, the Heavenly Dragon Ascension Fist. That is...he'd needed to get her angry on purpose...then get into a tight spiral...like a tornado. Then once the height of anger had been reached...he used the convection from the heat to cause damage. Ranma knew what would tick off the assassin the most. He jumped in and pushed Gene out of the way. Gene spoke up, but knew he avoided a nasty hit. 

"Care to tell me what that's all about?" Gene asked, half-angry.

"I got a crazy plan, that just might not work," Ranma admitted. 

"What do you have planned?" Gene asked.

"Go hide behind that rock with Jim," Ranma ordered. 

Gene did so. Ranma popped out, and Suzuka was very much angry. She attacked Ranma. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He got her into a perfect, tight spiral. The heat of her anger just hitting its peak. Once he got her at center...he made his move. He punched the hot air, causing Suzuka to be caught in a violent tornado. After a few minutes she landed. She was damaged, but she wasn't amused. Ranma had to charge in. However, he caught the sash to her kimono...and Suzuka fell down trying to cover herself. Her sword was far from her so she was beyond helpless. Ranma had enough and picked it up. 

"So...you attacked us for no reason," Ranma said. "I just met Fred Luo just today." 

"Wait...you don't...?" Suzuka asked.

"Listen, I never worked for him at all...and these two had to be hired to keep you from killing him," Ranma stated bluntly.

"But...my...wait what are you doing with my sword?" Suzuka asked once Ranma got a hold of it.

"Back off, or I'm breaking it," Ranma said. "Gene would appreciate this gift though." 

"You win..." Suzuka stated. 

Ranma wrapped the sword up and tossed it to her. She was a woman of her word. She had no idea that an unarmed guy like Ranma would beat her that easily. She also underestimated how powerful he was. After...Ranma sat next to Gene when Suzuka left. Gene had serious questions to ask Ranma. He never seen anybody take such a violent hit, and take damage, only to limp away with serious shame. Jim also looked. He was very much confused by what happened, and he had exactly the same questions as Gene did. Ranma meanwhile looked up. He was figuring how to pay for the damages for the rental car. However, he knew full well what Gene wanted answered.

"Yeah that was the Heavenly Dragon Ascension Fist," Ranma answered. "It's really difficult to learn actually."

"How would you learn something like that?" Gene asked.

"Well...if a perverted gnome hits a Shiatsu spot being vindictive..." Ranma hissed.

"Oh...I have heard of the Kei Pirates doing that..." Jim said frowning.

"That technique is pretty old...and pretty vindictive," Ranma said. 

"It doesn't matter," Gene said. "We need to get back to Fred." 

"Hey...wouldn't Fred be upset?" Jim answered.

"No," Ranma said, "she's one to keep her word."

  
After a while they made their way back to Fred's. Suzuka ended up staying away from Fred. However, Luo was disappointed that she didn't meet a more permanent end...he didn't ask exactly for them to kill her. He still paid up. They didn't tell him about the rental car that would have been deducted. Aisha and Melfina came after the money was split equally. They left, but waited until they were out of earshot of Luo's bodyguards. There were trade secrets that still needed to be kept...no matter how rudimentary they were. Once they returned to the Outlaw Star, Ranma decided he'd save his money. It wouldn't do him any good to keep that to himself. He had no idea he'd be running into Twilight Suzuka again. Only this time...it won't be as an adversary...or a friend straight out. He knew the reception would be chilly.


	6. Act 6 the Second Meeting with Suzuka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranma meets back up with Twilight Suzuka, who after a failed attempt to try to take him out, decided to try to get to know him a little bit better.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

After they left Fred's...they were at the Outlaw Star. A problem did happen when they came back. Gene ran the diagnostics, and the fuel system somehow was red. They weren't going anywhere for a while. Also this kind of repair was expensive. An inept technician ruptured the fuel lines, and well...caused more work. Gene groaned and he had to talk to the supervisor to see what happened. He braced himself for how much this would cost. After all, these guys did still have to be paid just the same. This also was an extensive repair that at least would take a day....at worst a week. Also the group was tired. The Supervisor he sighed and knew they wouldn't be able to pay for that even with their earnings. 

"I'll tell you what," he said. "Since you know Fred Luo, and had done business with him in the past...I'll do the repairs for a discount." 

"How much of a discount?" Gene asked. 

"The best I can do is thirty percent," he answered. 

"We have no choice then," Gene said. 

Everybody knew what that meant. They had to come up with the money they had to pool it together. After...they were barely left with anything. Gene mentally cursed as he thought Fred would at least pay a little more for his services. Ranma knew that look. He knew he'd have to do something for extra money. He also knew they couldn't use his girl form here to his advantage. In a place where assassins, weapons dealers, and so on...people are a lot smarter than that. He decided he'd be wiser to actually try to make bank on his own. Jim saw that Ranma was thinking things through. Something he had a rare chance to do. Still, he got the feeling that things weren't going to be rough. Ranma heard Aisha whining about not having money to go shopping.

"Well...we can't help it," Gene said. "Right now our priority is the ship." 

"That sucks," Aisha whined.

"Hey what are you thinking about, Ranma?" Jim asked.

"We better start taking jobs to get back the money lost," Ranma spoke up. 

"That's not such a bad idea," Gene said. 

"What should we do?" Melfina asked.

"That's something I'm working on," Ranma said. "We can't just take any job." 

"Right," Aisha said, "so unless we win a crap ton of cash in the lottery..." 

"We're out of luck," Ranma said bluntly. 

"Well...can you make with the girl form and take advantage?" Gene asked.

"No," Ranma said, "they're a lot smarter here." 

"We should do our best then," Gene said smiling. 

They decided to look for jobs to make up the money...as fast as they could. They had no idea how long they'd be here. They also decided they needed to still rest for a few hours. That much they were able to do inside of the ship. After they were rested, it was daylight. They checked with the supervisor who told them the repairs were just now getting started. They couldn't do anything since he didn't have his full crew. They all decided they'd have to go off to do their own thing. Jim was with Melfina, and Gene was with Aisha. This left Ranma to explore. He did ask for a map of the place. He didn't want to get lost. The supervisor marked the space port where he could return quickly as possible. Ranma was out looking for some sort of work when he got a chill up his spine. It felt like...somebody took a piss on his grave, and then danced on it after. He slowly went to an outdoor café and sat at a chair. He had no idea he'd run back into Aisha and Gene who took a seat with him. Ranma spoke up. 

"Hey...did you ever get the feeling...?" Ranma started.

"That somebody's going to kill you, then piss, and then dance on your grave?" Gene finished. 

"Are you getting that feeling now?" Aisha asked. 

"I am," Ranma said. 

"Then, we think we know what's going on," Aisha and Gene said together. 

"She's behind me isn't she?" Ranma asked. He knew exactly whom he was referring to. 

"She isn't," Gene answered. 

"I hope to God, that I don't run into her," Ranma returned.

"You haven't found a good job yet have you?" Aisha asked.

"Nope," Ranma said, "at this point...I may well have to do some serious hustling." 

"Do you have experience hustling?" Aisha asked.

"Funny you should ask that," Ranma said. "Mr. Tendo...he put up the house and other possessions up against a guy called the Gambling King." 

"That's a bit well..." Gene started.

"Flamboyant...I'm going to say that's being kind," Ranma said. "He was a cheating bastard." 

"I see...to win everybody's things back...?" Aisha said.

"Yeah, I ain't proud of it, but it had to be done," Ranma continued. 

He left the cafe after to go find work. He later did hit big on some serious manual jobs. That made back the money lost for the repairs, but then some. He was tired, though on his way back, he ran into Twilight Suzuka. The chill went up his spine. He knew he'd have to face her. He also knew he could ill afford to get into another conflict. He can't do his Heavenly Dragon Ascension Fist if he wanted to. It was too crowded. Still he decided he'd better walk past her, and not cause trouble. She had the right idea, or was trying to bait him into a battle. Ranma decided to pick up the pace. He was going to bait her instead. She followed him with her sword by her ready. He doubled back from to get back to the alley. Suzuka saw him charge fully on. She didn't know if he was going to escape, or to attack. She had her sword drawn out. However, before she could do anything, she crushed gravel with no problems. It was that uneven portion of the alley that caused a problem. She caught the edge and she fell exactly on Ranma...with her boobs on his face. 

"What the hell?" Ranma asked.

"T-That's what I'd like to know!" Suzuka cursed. She was embarrassed again. 

"You can get off of me now," Ranma said. "I appreciate the view, but this is becoming a problem." 

"Yes, this is a problem," Suzuka said. 

"You're still pissed off about the other day aren't you?" Ranma asked straight up. 

"Yeah...though I never did meet anybody who could do something that powerful," Suzuka admitted.

"I learned that out of necessity," Ranma said truthfully.

"Surely there's no pressure points that can cause loss of strength," Suzuka said off-handedly.

"There is," Ranma returned, "it really sucks...when I got my strength back, it actually really helped." 

"Wait...that's why you jumped in?" Suzuka asked.

"Of course, it wouldn't have worked if you weren't red-hot angry," Ranma returned. He kept the red-hot perversion to himself.

"What happened...I would have been able to react a lot easier?" Suzuka asked now referring to the situation. 

"I see they don't exactly keep the streets free of bumps," Ranma said pointing. 

"Well...are you hurt?" Suzuka asked instinctively. She was an assassin...who wants to kill if she gets a job...but she still had morals.

"I'm not hurt too bad," Ranma spoke up. "You'd have been worse off if you didn't land on me." 

"You're not from around here are you?" Suzuka asked. 

"Nope, not from around here at all," Ranma answered. 

Ranma then told her his story. He went into detail on exactly what he had gone through. She didn't flinch at the details. However, when he got to the part of the engagements, he was honest in that he accidentally beat Shampoo when trying to defend Akane. Most were from Genma trying to get something to eat something to drink, or a place to stay for free. Suzuka she frowned at this part of the story. Of course she believed that he was in suspended cryogenics. That technology has even been advanced further to not even require a body to be frozen. He told her then about the Cat Fist technique...that really nearly sent her on tilt. She cleared her throat and spoke up. 

"So...he tossed you in a pit of starving cats?" Suzuka asked. 

"Yes...he did...he didn't even bother to turn the page to the manual," Ranma answered.

"What was the important information on the manual?" Suzuka asked following up. 

"It's been banned because many of the trainees got mentally unstable," Ranma answered. "In my case, it I'd not met Aisha, and calmed down when I did..."

"She'd hated you for the rest of your life," Suzuka finished.

"That's exactly right," Ranma said. 

"You're an interesting guy," Suzuka said. "However, you should explain to me the curse you have talked about." 

"I'll do one better," Ranma said. 

Just if on cue, somebody splashed Ranma accidentally with a washtub full of cold water. Suzuka jumped out of the way so she wouldn't get soaked. She returned and nodded. She realized that Ranma had been through a lot. Saotome calmed down and explained exactly what happened at the cursed springs at Jusenkyo in China. He lost his footing and fell into the spring of the drowned girl. Genma wasn't so lucky and fell into the spring of drowned panda. Ranma then realized that there were others out there starting with the lost boy Ryoga. Hibiki followed them to China trying to beat up Ranma, but instead fell into the spring of the drowned piglet. Suzuka did help Ranma dry off, and spoke up...though now she was confused.

"Just so you know...I'm still a guy," Ranma spoke up bluntly. "It's just when I get splashed with water, I'm a red-head, big-breasted girl." 

"That clears up a lot of things," Suzuka said. 

"Now, I got to get back to the others," Ranma said. 

"Very well," Suzuka stated, "we will meet again very soon." 

Ranma did appear back. He ran into Gene who had a cup of hot water on him for instant noodles. There were various successes for the jobs. Ranma made a lot more on his own. Melfina and Jim also made a lot. Aisha and Jim both struck out. It wasn't because they weren't capable...it just was because Aisha shot her mouth off. Though the miracle of Miracles, there was a message for Gene to check his accounts. Gene looked. One of the failed jobs ended up getting in trouble with Fred...the money was paid, and was doubled. It seemed that Ranma was rather confused at first but got it. It seems everybody made out decently. He was splashed with hot water by Aisha, though both overheard the two techs talking.

"Man this ship is a dream to repair!" one tech said.

"I know, it's a grappler to boot...and they're notoriously difficult," a second said.

"I wonder how this would fair in a space race?" 

"I don't know...but the entries are coming up soon...and it will have to be registered quickly." 

"Excuse me," Aisha said. "Did you say there was a race?" 

"Yes! There's a month to register!" the second tech answered.

"If you're brave enough to enter do it," The first one returned. "The MacDougals have won it two years running." 

Gene heard the conversation. There was one family name he really did wish would had been wiped out. The MacDougals were rather notorious, and nobody knows exactly what their history is. They know how to cover their tracks, and to make sure there are no loose ends. Ranma noticed Gene getting agitated and he got him away. He had to practically drag him to the ship to get answers from him. Gene wouldn't give it easily. Ranma decided it'd best to let it go. After all...He did have to deal with Twilight Suzuka. Ranma didn't know exactly why she was hired to kill try to kill Fred Luo. Ranma did however; decide that if they wanted to hit it big...then they'd have to do something fantastic.

"You know," Ranma said, "we can enter this race...and if the MacDougals are in it....you can wipe the floor with them." 

"That's not a bad idea," Gene said perking up. "I know it's going to be hard, but we can do it." 

"We do need to get to registration as soon as possible," Ranma warned. 

"How long do we have?" Gene asked.

"We have exactly one month," Ranma answered. 

"I'll check...and if the entry fees are high..." Gene said, worried.

"It's no problem," Ranma said. "I'll put my money on the line." 

"I'll put mine on the line too," Aisha said speaking up. 

"We will too!" Jim and Melfina declared.

"Then it's settled, we're entering the Outlaw Star," Gene said.

  
They rested a bit inside of the ship. After they left the space port to go to register to the offices. Gene knew exactly where to go...and had Gilliam plot the quickest point there. They had no idea that a certain assassin would come and would want to make a bet. Ranma wasn't the one to gamble. There is one thing that they really did need and that was a sponsor. Gene knew exactly what he had to do. He had to get in contact with Fred to work with him. That would prove to be a lot tougher than he thought.


	7. Act 7 The Gauntlet is thrown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene and the gang decided to enter the race in Heifong. However, there's the problem of the MacDougalls, who are entering the race as well. It will keep Gene's energy to keep him from blowing his top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for not doing a basic research on the spelling of the MacDougalls' last name. Hopefully that's corrected from here on out!

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

The crew did finally arrive to the registration to the Race. They were forced to be going in as privateers. Fred didn't want to put up the money, but it was understandable as Gene thought. After all, Fred didn't want to be hyper extended. He also didn't want to have Suzuka to come and finish him off. Ranma still looked uneasy. He didn't know exactly what was going on. He ended up looking around Gene saw and noted there were a lot of sponsored racers. He also saw a lot of privateers who were in the same situation as him. He noticed a pair, and his look soured. Jim knew and got Gene away from the situation. Everybody else followed. Ranma was starting to get the picture. However, he wasn't sure. He had to still ask about Gene. He has been eerily quiet about his space phobia (that seems to be tamped down when he's on the Outlaw Star). Bluntly, Saotome wanted answers and he's not going to let Gene try to shrug it off. 

"Oh...is there anything you need?" Gene asked Ranma.

"Yeah, what's your deal with those guys?" Ranma asked bluntly.

"I was kind of hoping you'd figure it on your own," Gene said.

"They look like the kind of guys who'll hide their tracks and leave no loose ends," Ranma returned.

"You're right," Gene said. "Those guys are the MacDougall family." 

"Are they outlaws just the same?" Ranma asked.

"They are...though they don't really care on what job they take..." Gene frowned.

"Let me guess...they can clean a shitter as long as they get paid more than a plumber," Ranma returned.

"That's one way to put it, though I do know them...and not from a good experience," Gene returned.

"Wait...how exactly did your dad die?" Ranma asked.

"The MacDougalls killed him when I was a kid," Gene spoke up. "That also was the day where my space phobia took hold." 

"You know what, the best success is?" Ranma started.

"What's that?" Gene asked. 

"Winning this race," Ranma said rather honestly. 

Gene took that to heart and decided he was going to have to do exactly what Ranma suggested. He also noticed that Gene was started to get agitated. He had to get him away from the situation. This was the best way to keep him from doing anything he'd live to regret...and possibly getting disqualified before they left the starting line. The others followed, but it was unbearably quiet. They had enough money left over to at least go to town to get something to eat. Aisha she decided to break the tension, as best as she could. Little did she know that she'd probably lead into interesting events. 

"Hey let's go to this place!" Aisha suggested. "It's nice and cheap." 

"Well, I can't argue with that," Gene said smiling. 

"C'mon, you can't let those pricks get to you," Aisha said brutally honestly. 

"Besides," Jim said, with a dire warning, "they're looking for a fight!" 

"That's absolutely right," Gene said. "The less said about them, the better." 

"Hey! Let's go get something to eat!" Ranma suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Gene returned. 

"Say, this place is a Buffet?" Jim reminded.

"We can't just eat until we're overstuffed," Gene warned.

"Well, let's get in then!" Melfina said. 

They went into the buffet, and paid up. Aisha frowned when a herd of people just crowded her out to get something to eat. She had a very bad appetite that actually closed down a few buffets...and she was banned from a couple. She grumbled as the people left and the food was all gone. A worker frowned and he had to refill the food and drinks. He saw Aisha and remembered her from one of the buffets he used to work out. He sighed and just let her through. He knows a Catarl Catarl appetite is voracious. He also knows that she paid extra from the times she did clean them out. They got their food quickly. Ranma smiled. This was the first time in forever that he's been to a buffet. He's been to them, but with being frozen, his life was on hold. Gene saw that Ranma took his time and didn't want to just pig out. 

"So how do you like the food?" Melfina asked. 

"It's okay," Ranma said. "At least we're not starving." 

"Yeah," Aisha said, "still it's good food!" 

"Well look what the devil has dragged in," Gene said. He noticed the MacDougalls. 

"Keep your cool," Ranma warned.

"Of course," Gene said, "we're just only here to eat, and not cause trouble." 

As soon as they walked through the door, the youngest MacDougall, Harry, had to remind Ron not to start trouble. While they were known to take things extremely too far...Harry knew that Ron, his older brother, needed to be reminded to behave. The two came up to the crew. Harry decided he'd better be the one to speak up. It felt like things were tense, so he decided to put down a friendly hello. Gene returned the gesture in kind. Of course, Harry brought up the race. This was going to be going to take all of Gene's strength to not to make a federal case out of it. Instead, Gene decided to reverse it back on him. He knew of the El Dorado, and he also knew of the MacDougall's penchant for being mercenaries. He decided he was going to kill them with kindness. It was the best thing he could do in this situation. 

"Is that you Harry?" Gene asked with a smiled. 

"Do I know you?" Harry asked. 

"Well, everybody knows your reputation winning the race 3 years running," Gene returned.

"Oh! Are you going to participate?" Harry asked.

"We are, I hope it's a good one," Gene said. Everybody took their cue from Gene right away. 

"I hope so too, it's quite boring when we don't get competition," Harry mocked. 

"Who knows maybe it'll be the closest race in history," Gene said 

"Hey that's a possibility," Harry said. He held out his hand to shake Gene's. "May the best ship win!" 

"May the best ship win!" Gene said. 

Once Harry and Ron went to get their food, Gene wasn't angry. If anything...he had a hunger to beat the MacDougalls...or at least make it very close. That would depend on their starting time since the starts are very staggered. Gene also realized that qualifying would be in a couple of days. Everybody finished eating, and Gene nodded. Ranma looked and he spoke up. He knew that Gene was now ready to get to work. Ranma had some questions for the assignments that would have had to be given. Gene knew that Ranma really still didn't know anything about navigation or piloting. However, he noticed that he was a lot willing to learn if given the chance. He can actually hang around Aisha and not freak out. He looked to Ranma straight up to get an answer. 

"What do you know about space navigation?" Gene asked.

"I don't really know," Ranma said. "I'm willing to learn it." 

"Well, you signed up for the crash course, and Jim and Melfina will teach you," Gene announced. "It's a bit last minute but we will need all the help we can get." 

"It's going to be difficult," Melfina said a bit evenly. "I hope you can handle it..."

"I can," Ranma said. 

"Good! Shall we go make our plans?" Melfina asked. 

"We shall," Gene said. "I just got word that qualifying is in two days...so we have to be at our best." 

"Then we'll have to make sure everything's up to snuff, but it's going to be expensive," Jim said worried.

"Actually, the race organizers have pit crews to help us out," Gene answered, "that way privateer and sponsored ships can make their desired adjustments." 

"Right, plus the pit crews for privateers are provided right?" Aisha asked.

"That's exactly right," Gene said. "Imagine if we hit even third place in this race...that will really cause an uproar." 

Gene knew that the MacDougalls were listening in. He actually wanted them to hear everything. Since most of it was out in the open. Ron was very much uneasy. After Gene and the crew left, he wanted to say something rather...scandalous. He was stopped by Harry. They realized that they had to play it cool and not attack. Harry was especially worried since he knows what would happen if they caused a fight. He actually had to be the calmer younger brother. This too also played into his plans. After all...nobody could try to connect them with any kind of crimes if they decided to play straight. Also they didn't need any loose ends that needed to be tied up. 

"Look at it like this," Harry said, "we can lay low for a while." 

"I still don't like what's going on," Ron said.

"I know but you can't be a hot head," Harry warned.

"What you're saying we got to be...? Ron started.

"Exactly," Harry said, "besides...Gene is the one loose end that we couldn't take care of." 

"Shit...he still remembers," Ron said quietly.

"I know...that's why we can't agitate him...I want him at his best for the race and qualifying in two days," Harry returned. 

"Somehow, I agree with him...this year's race will be exciting that's for sure," Ron said.

Harry smiled as the two ended up getting their food. Meanwhile, Gene was not exactly too happy with the recent developments. Just at the last possible minute, Fred decided to sponsor the Outlaw Star after all, under the shell of Luo Enterprises. Of course, he knew he was putting himself at risk with Twilight Suzuka...but with the prize money the highest it's been in years...he couldn't pass it up. Gene had to submit amended paperwork to the organizers for the new development. However, Gene still felt now it was going to be something worthwhile. Ranma looked around and saw the other racers. He was nervous as all hell. He also was excited as well. He knew he was going to do something that probably would have fell in line with competitions he had to do. In his girl form, he was forced to take on Kodachi in a Rhythmic Gymnastics battle, for example. Gene saw Ranma, and he was the same way. Either way they had to deal with the Qualifying that was going to happen in two days. After that, in a couple of weeks, the Race through the Heifong system was going to be a rough affair.

 


	8. Act 8 Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene had to end up getting answers for some questions that he really didn't know about. He also wanted to know about the random sponsor for the Outlaw Star in the race.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

The crew was put up in a hotel so they all could get some rest. Ranma looked over at Gene and there were a lot of things about him that he still didn't know about. He knew at this point that he had to get every last bit of information out of Gene as he could. He knew that if Gene didn't do this he wouldn't be concentrating on his race. There was a lot that was going on inside of Gene's head. Jim noticed it, and decided to go over to Melfina and Aisha's room. Gene saw Ranma glare over at him. He thought he was angry with him for some reason. It soon started to sink in that he owed Ranma some answers. Gene sighed. He knew that there were some things that he had to reveal to Ranma. It was already known to Melfina and Jim. Ranma was the person he didn't reveal all of the truth to. That felt like a letdown. 

"You have some serious questions for me don't you?" Gene asked.

"I do," Ranma said. 

"Then I'll cut right to the chase," Gene said directly. "I do know those guys the MacDougalls." 

"Do they have anything to do with your space phobia?" Ranma asked.

"They do..." Gene said. He was trying to keep it together. 

"Wait...you told me your father died when you were young," Ranma remembered.

"Yes, they're the ones who killed him," Gene said. "I was 14 when that happened." 

"I see...you were trying not to cause a scene at the buffet," Ranma returned.

"Yeah," Gene said. "They also ended up killing one of my good friends not too long ago." 

"Oh..." 

"Yeah, her name was Hot Ice Hilda...and trust me she was a woman you didn't want to take lightly." 

"So...that's how you were able to get your craft and meet up with Melfina?" 

"Yes, however, it has ended up working for the best," Gene said smiling. 

"Hey, I didn't mean to give off a bad..." Ranma started.

"We're mostly only human," Gene said. 

"Though I do have a question," Ranma started.

"Hey," Aisha said coming in, "Gene we need..." 

Before she could finish her statement she tripped over her feet and landed on Ranma. This was the same position he had when he dealt with Twilight Suzuka. Once she was down, her boobs were in his face. Gene he smiled. He helped Aisha up, and helped Ranma up. After that, Aisha was being childish, blaming the floor being uneven. Gene could see she was being childish. The floors were perfectly even. Gene decided to tease Aisha just a little bit. 

"So...it seems you have a crush on Ranma," Gene said smiling. 

"Hey that's no fair!" Aisha whined.

"It seems so since this is the second time you wanted his face in your boobs," Gene teased.

"Shut up! I don't have a crush on him!" Aisha confronted.

'You know...she is a cat,' Ranma thought. 'She's also a couple of years older than I am...so I might consider it.' 

"Ranma what are you thinking about?" Gene said asked. 

"Gene you're right, she's cute," Ranma answered.

Aisha blushed hard. This was the absolute first time somebody told her she was cute. Like Ukyo she punched Ranma out of embarrassment and left the room giggling. Ranma was okay, he was okay. Gene laughed. Ranma did relate to Gene about Ukyo. She did the same thing when they met...though she wanted to kill him for what Genma did. They did get along, but she had those fantasies of giving up the arts to help run an okonomiyaki kart. Gene nodded as he saw a picture in Ranma's bag. It was a group picture with him, Ukyo, and Akane in a photo booth on one of the better days. Gene nodded, and he did speak up. 

"So this short hair girl is sweet, but she just shot first and asked questions later?" Gene asked.

"Yup, that's Akane Tendo," Ranma said, "she really is sweet." 

"Wait...she was one of your fiancées?" Gene asked curiously.

"She was," Ranma said. "Yeah I did bring some things on myself, but she did piss me off at times." 

"That's just life," Gene said. 

"This one here, that is Ukyo," Ranma said. "She was in me and Akane's class...and she wanted to take my head off." 

"Did you have an incident where you had a shit ton of guys just jump you?" Gene asked.

"Yes...one was when the cat fist was triggered by that jackass Tatewaki Kuno..." Ranma started.

"Was there a cooking contest involved somewhere?" 

"Actually yes there was!" Ranma answered. "Ukyo made herself very girly, and competed to see whom I liked best." 

"That was a headache," Gene said.

"Well...if you had to go through Akane's cooking..." Ranma started. 

"Like I said, it's life," Gene said. "I was only teasing Aisha." 

"Still, she is cute...in her Catarl Catarl way," Ranma smiled.

"I'm surprised you haven't flipped out crazy yet," Gene said.

"I've been keeping up with the arts...though that was the beginner version," Ranma said. 

"Right, the Catarl Catarl arts are hardcore," Gene admitted. "I have seen Aisha train and damn near get injured every time on the advanced techniques." 

"Wait, the manual I got was just only for basic attacks?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Gene said. "Don't be stupid, you never started out on the advanced techniques first." 

That did catch Ranma off guard. However his resolve was now higher than ever. If he has been training and mastering the easy stuff...then he was looking forward to the more advanced stuff. He made sure to keep everything in mind. There was one thing bothering the both of them. Why would Fred actually sponsor them after telling them no? That was something Gene would have to figure out when the qualifiers came up in a couple of days. Jim came into the room yawning. Gene figured it would be a good time to call it a day, and let Aisha and Melfina have their privacy. Ranma grabbed a bed and he fell asleep yawning. The others had the same idea. The very next morning, Gene was on the phone with Fred. He wanted to know a few things. 

"Hey what caused you to change your mind?" Gene asked.

"Did you hear about the prize pool?" Fred answered happily.

"I know it's huge, like a million," Gene spoke up. 

"Nope, it's now ten million with the lion's share going to the top three finishers," Fred informed him.

"You sponsored us because now the sponsor's prize pool is now higher," Gene returned.

"That's right," Fred said. "Even if you lose I still will make out a winner." 

"Great then that means you can watch the qualifiers tomorrow," Gene said, turning things about.

"What...that's this soon?!" Fred asked panicked. 

"Yes it is," Gene said. "Is there anything else?" 

"N-no, there's nothing else!" Fred then smiled. 

"Okay, look for us in qualifying!" Gene said as he hung up the phone. 

"So...Fred Luo decided to come out of his hole like a rat?" a woman said. It sent a chill up Gene's spine. 

"Suzuka..." Gene started, "it's nice seeing you again." 

"Well, that's no way to talk to a woman," Suzuka teased. 

"It's nice to see you again," Gene smiled. 

"I'm going to enjoy this year's race through Heifong," Suzuka said. "I might make some money off to it." 

Gene knew what she was doing. She was going to place a bet on any one of the ships...just not the outlaw star. That would probably have the connection of Fred on it. However, Gene looked on the odds board, and they had high 125-1 odds. He winced because a lot of the people who ran the race before were hardened veterans. He also looked and he saw the odds for the El Dorado...it was even money...the sure bet. Gene just smiled. He knew not to put a bet on his own ship. He also knew it really wasn't a sure thing, so he decided to pass. Suzuka saw and she decided she was going to go make her bets. As for the odds for the Qualifiers tomorrow...they were at 200-1. Gene frowned. People really didn't have faith. He just shrugged and went to meet up with the rest of the gang. He just smiled, he decided he was going to try his hardest...and to start proving people wrong.


	9. Act 9 the Qualifiers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the day for the Qualifiers. However, Restless at the start line, the crew decided to go all out to send a message. Gene also decided he was going to have some fun..though using Melfina and Ranma to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do want to thank all of you who are reading, reviewing, and favoriting this story. I hope that I have written something that you like and enjoy. Honestly without you readers...then it's all for nothing.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

Gene and the rest of his crew came to the Outlaw Star as quickly as possible. After another day of anxious rest, they were at the qualifiers. It was very simple...they had to run a very fast course to qualify for the race. They also had the advantage of setting the time that everybody had to make, or beat. In short, it's win and get in. If they didn't qualify....then that would have been money lost. Gene still wasn't too thrilled about the odds on the board against them. Nobody in the crew made a bet just yet. It would have made things look bad if they won and bet on themselves. Ranma helped look over everything in the ship. Of course, he was helped by Melfina who was really sweet to him. Ranma knew that she reminded her of Kasumi. She is the eldest of the Tendo sisters. She was a bit ditzy sometimes, but she really was sweet. Melfina had her moments. She did decide to try to get to know Ranma on her own. Ranma decided he'd return the favor. 

"Hey," Ranma said smiling, "how's everything going?" 

"Oh! Everything's going great!" Melfina said happily.

"You know, you're the only person I barely get to talk to," Ranma admitted.

"Oh, is that a bad thing?" Melfina asked. She felt bad.

"Well, it is for me," Ranma said. "You've done nothing wrong." 

"Are you sure?" Melfina asked. 

"I'm sure," Ranma said. "I just never got a chance to talk to you in person." 

"Well...I really don't know much about my past," Melfina explained. 

"That's alright," Ranma returned. "It's just as bad as having a crap past." 

"That's true," Melfina said. She got it, but didn't want it to be let on. 

"You know what," Ranma said. "You really are kind." 

Melfina blushed when Ranma said that. He looked around to make sure there was nothing in the way to cause him, or Melfina to trip and fall. He already had a lot of problems with Aisha's lack of concentration recently. He also remembers Twilight Suzuka. He is well aware of what she's capable of. After all, she is an assassin. However, Ranma never did get a chance to meet up with her again. He could conceive what exactly what would happen then if he met up with her. He knew she still probably didn't appreciate him having the step in, and having to use his Heavenly Dragon Ascension Fist. Aisha, he did figure she was cute. However, she was very boisterous, childish, and can get quite dangerous when she's beyond pissed off. He looked to Melfina, and helped her out. She did remind him of Kasumi, though she was a tiny bit lost at times. However, when it came down to it, like Kasumi, she proved to be quite helpful. Ranma really had some serious thinking to do. Once they were finished Ranma smiled. 

"That should do it," Ranma said. 

"Thank you," Melfina said smiling, "you're really helpful." 

"It's no problem," Ranma returned. "Besides, considering...this is actually a lot easier."

"What do you mean?" Melfina asked.

"Well..." Ranma started.

"If we were at space port Nerima back in his time we'd found out how violent things could get," Gene said interrupting.

"That's just about it," Ranma said. 

"Yeah, we got to get going," Gene said. "We're going to be getting our numbers for our qualifying." 

"That's right!" Melfina said, "We have to at least make it so we can start at the very front." 

"There's an advantage isn't there?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, also a disadvantage," Gene pointed out. 

They went to the Outlaw star, and all systems were green. Aisha was there checking things out, and she was happy things were going to be starting. She looked and she saw Ranma come in first. Of course she blushed. Most of the guys she's dealt with never openly called her cute before. She also had the same reaction as Ukyo had. However, she straightened up and she got serious. She knew everything now was on the line. It would be for nothing if they didn't make it through the course. Once everybody was in place, a race official came on the video communications to give Gene his instructions. He also gave Gene some welcome news. He wasn't going to go dead last, but he wasn't going to go in the first group of 25 either. 

"You will be Number 37," the official said.

"That's actually a great spot," Gene said. "We'll do our best." 

"Thank you, you will start exactly at this time," he said flashing it on the screen. "What ever repairs you need to make, do so now." 

"That's all we need," Gene said confidently.

"Here's the map of the straight course," he said. 

Gene acknowledged and let the official go. It was a bit of a long wait since this course could take about an hour long. Many of the people in front of them took their time hoping to play it safe. Aisha was getting antsy. She was cursing under her breath this was taking way too long. Gene heard her, and he tried to calm her down. Melfina also tried to calm her down. Jim had a bitter idea. He knew she was competitive, so why not take that energy and put it into something useful. Ranma also knew where Jim was coming from, and he decided he was going to speak up. He knew somehow this probably would work. 

"Hey," Ranma said, "when will these goofballs do the best they can instead of playing it safe?"

"What do you mean?" Aisha said.

"I mean if they qualify they'll be at the back of the pack," Ranma returned.

"So that means if we go all out?" Aisha said.

"We can do the qualifying course in half the time," Ranma said. "We can maybe even do it in less than half the time." 

"Well, that's music to my ears," Gene said. "After all, the El Dorado never played safe in qualifying." 

"We just have only a couple more chumps to go," Ranma said. "We'll need to be ready." 

"Oh, we'll be ready," Aisha said. "Then we'll kick their teeth in when we qualify." 

Aisha went from bored to excited in a half-step. After the safe racers went...the outlaw star was called up. They went to the line, and they decided they were going to do the course as fast as they could. There was no room for error. They also knew the El Dorado would end up making it so that the others who wanted to play safe would not qualify at all. They got the fifteen minute countdown to get ready. Even Gilliam was excited about what was going on. Then, when they got the green light...they took off like a shot! They went as fast as they could. In fact, Gene made sure that his engines could handle this fast of a speed. Ranma held on for dear life in the seat. He got used to the take off and docking of the Outlaw Star. Once he got himself used to the forces, he had a broad smile on his face. 

"I wonder what the time is?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know," Jim returned. "We're going quite fast." 

"If we keep this up," Aisha said, "We'll make top ten qualifying." 

"That's right, we can't let our guard down," Melfina said confidently. 

"Alright, now let's really show them what we're made of!" Gene exclaimed excitedly. 

"Let's rock," Gilliam returned. 

Gene and the Outlaw Star took off faster during the course rounding the half-way point. They completed the course. The officials were dumbfounded. The Outlaw Star finished the normally one-hour course in 20 minutes. The other racers were dumbfounded by how fast the Qualifying time was. This sent a message to anybody playing safe to do so at their own peril. Those who went before them now had to deal with the proposition that they may not be getting into the race with such slow times. Once they were docked and the engines cooled down, Gene got the time from the official. He was very stern. He had to be to not show favoritism. 

"Your qualifying time was 20 minutes flat," the official said. 

"What was the last qualifying time?" Gene asked.

"The prior time was 50 minutes and 30 seconds," The official answered. 

"Thank you," Gene said, "any special instructions?" 

"There are no special instructions, stand by," The official answered.

Once the communications screen went black, Gene decided that they needed to relax. They got through the harder part of the qualifiers. Naturally the El Dorado went after them, and they did the same thing. However, they were only able to shave about two minutes from their time to 18 minutes. It now became a matter of who will try to break the times. Ranma and the others went to the resort area and rested. The Outlaw Star was in good hands. Ranma went and he heard some bettors tearing up their tickets. Suzuka stood there smiling. She placed a bet on the El Dorado and they ended up qualifying. She was surprised that there was one guy who was really happy that the Outlaw Star hit qualifying. She noticed everybody and came to them. 

"So, it is nice to see you all again," Suzuka said evenly. 

"Hello," Gene said, "You made money?" 

"I did," she said. "You know you are allowed to bet on yourself." 

"If we did that, then bad things would happen," Gene said. 

"Oh, you would have made a killing...you and the El Dorado are in the top two for the Qualifiers," she said. 

"Well, we really didn't think on doing it," Gene said. 

"You really are modest," Suzuka said. 

"Yeah, are you here to see how the rest of the qualifiers go?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Suzuka said. "Though, I'm still kind of sore you got into it with me the last time we met." 

"I figured that," Ranma said. 

"Still...I respect you for putting everything on the line," Suzuka returned. 

"Well...the odds board probably is going to not be in our favor," Gene said. 

After the qualifiers, Gene was right....the odds still were against the Outlaw Star. It went up to 750-1. The El Dorado was now at less than even money odds at 1-2. This caused Gene to shake his head. Suzuka saw and she decided she was going to hedge her bets. If either the top two qualifiers win the course, then she'll still make money. She actually did decide to get if either the Outlaw Star or the El Dorado would make the top three. Ranma decided he was going to bet on the Outlaw Star to win. He had that much confidence. Gene was surprised. He was a little angry until Ranma told him something that would change his perspective. 

"Hey, if we don't have confidence in ourselves here...how can we have confidence in our abilities to race?" Ranma asked.

"I never thought of it that way," Gene said. "You know what...I'm going to go for it." 

Gene made the bet. Suzuka was right they could only bet on their own vessel. The others didn't bet at all. That was okay. Once the Qualifiers were concluded...the Outlaw Star, and the El Dorado were one and two. They were going to start at the beginning of the pack. The earlier safe-players were going to start at a huge disadvantage of being in the very back of the pack. Gene's demeanor changed. He really now had confidence he could at least make the top three. That spread to the other crew. The race now was going to be a week away. Gene decided that everybody should at least try to relax and take a load off. 

"We have a week to go for the race," Gene said. "We can make the necessary repairs today...and actually have fun." 

"This is going to be one hell of a race," Aisha said. 

"You got that right," Gene said. 

"What caused you to bet for us?" Jim asked.

"Actually, I was being selfish," Gene said. "I have to have faith in my crew." 

"Can you imagine how much money we can hit if we win?" Aisha asked. 

"A lot," Gene said, "though we still have to race...so let's not get ahead of ourselves." 

"You know maybe we can go back to the hotel and rest," Jim said. 

'Good idea,' Gene thought, 'plus I think I can have Mel go with Ranma to spend time with him.'

"Is everything okay Gene?" Melfina asked. 

"Everything is okay," Gene said. "In fact tomorrow you should spend time with Ranma." 

"Wait...what's going on here?" Ranma asked.

"Well, it'd been a shame if you two didn't spend time with each other," Gene said.

  
Aisha smiled happily. She grinned. Ranma knew is if he was being punished. Gene then saw and decided to make it worse. He knew that Aisha would follow and try to see what was going on. Ranma gulped. He really didn't know how this was going to play out. Still, things for the race are in place, for now. Once they went back to the hotel they got some rest. Gene also knew that Ranma would need some new clothing. It wouldn't make for a good first date if he had just one outfit. He really needed some help. He knew the curse, he'd have to be able to be comfortable at a moment's notice. It was going to be a fun day, and Gene couldn't wait.


	10. Act 10 Melfina & Ranma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranma and Melfina are roped into going out on the town. However, things ended up working out for the best.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito. 

The very next day, Ranma was up. He was with Gene and Jim. Of course he really didn't see what the big deal was. He didn't want to wear his normal clothing. He was laundering the same thing and he needed a new wardrobe. Ranma had some money left over to get him at least a couple of new outfits. Gene had to re teach Ranma how to tie a tie. It had been a long time since he had to wear one. Once Ranma was dressed, he felt uneasy. He knew that Melfina and Gene were very close. On the same token, he also didn't want to be offensive to Melfina...or Gene for that matter. Plus, Gene knew Ranma could take care of himself and Melfina when the time arose. Ranma didn't complain, but he felt out of place. He knew he didn't want to go-all out with this. However, Gene decided this was going to be for the best. This was useful if he got splashed with cold water. Gene spoke up to break the tension.

"Hey it's going to be alright," Gene said, using a lint roller. 

"Besides, it'll give everybody a chance to relax," Jim said.

"Why do I feel uneasy?" Ranma said. "I feel like there's something more foul than the old master Happosai." 

"Well, keep on your guard," Gene said. "I can tell you with certainty that there are folks who will try to end your life." 

"Just relax will you," Jim admonished. "Melfina will feel bad if you're upset about something." 

"You know how to lay on the guilt trip, kid," Ranma said. 

He was forced to calm down. Melfina came in as Ranma was ready to go. Gene sent them off for a good time. The problem was neither knew where to go. They left the hotel and were going to explore the city. It was quiet, as neither knew what to talk about. The silence was soon broken when Ranma spotted an arcade. Melfina was puzzled. Ranma brought her inside, and the machines were miles ahead of what he was used to. Though, they still maintained the old favorites, like the dance machine. Ranma felt a bit overdressed to come here, but he looked around. There were others in his same predicament. He smiled and felt a bit easier. He decided he was going to actually relax. 

"Hey, let's go play this machine," Ranma said. 

"Oh...I never played any of these..." Melfina said uneasy. 

"It's okay," Ranma said. "It takes practice." 

"That racing game looks fun!" Melfina said with a smile. 

"I wonder if the mechanics are the same as they were in my time," Ranma said. "They started doing stuff like this in arcades." 

"I wonder what Arcades were back in your time," Melfina wondered.

"Like a machine like that," Ranma said, pointing at a straight fighter. 

"We can try the racing game first," Ranma suggested.

"Okay! I'll do my best!" Melfina said. 

Ranma smiled and they went to the rocket race game. Melfina really did well her first time out, as did Ranma. She smiled as they finished the courses on one credit. They both got the top two scores. They went to the fighter. Ranma picked the weakest character, as some guy butted in and got an ultra strong character. Ranma knew what he was doing at that point. He ended up making sure that the guy was beaten badly in 2 of 3 rounds. The guy got angry, but he walked away. He didn't want to get kicked out. Melfina was surprised that Ranma knew exactly what to do on this game. She has seen Aisha who plays these kinds of games, and dating simulators all of the time. Ranma spoke up seeing Melfina feeling a bit left out. 

"Hey you want to play?" Ranma asked.

"Oh sure, I just have to learn," Melfina answered.

"It's very easy," Ranma reassured her. 

"Okay, what do I do?" Melfina asked, interested.

"Well, pick a fighter you're comfortable with, then go from there," Ranma explained. He really didn't know all of the move sets. It was the most basic advice. 

"Okay, then I'll pick this one!" Melfina said. She picked a beginner fighter. It was a different one than what Ranma used. 

A kid came next to Melfina, and he picked an easy fighter as well. He was just only looking to have a good time. Unlike the guy from earlier, he never wanted to make things difficult on himself. He and Melfina had their match, and it was rather close. She lost but still enjoyed herself. After they played in the arcade, Ranma noticed that it was about time to get something to eat. He decided he had to get something quick and cheap. He really didn't have much money on hand, and it would be a disaster if he got caught without enough money. Melfina noticed the worry, and she decided she was going to help pay. 

"Here we are!" Melfina said.

"Thanks," Ranma answered, "hey you and gene are very close." 

"How do you figure that?" Melfina started.

"I don't know," Ranma admitted. "Just in the way you both talk to each other." 

"Are you saying me and Gene are more than friends?" Melfina asked blushing.

"You tell me," Ranma said smiling.

"I never thought about it like that," Melfina returned. 

"Well, have you thought about dating him?" Ranma asked.

At this point, Melfina went red. She really didn't expect Ranma to be so forward. She giggled a bit because that was something she didn't even think about that at all. Ranma was now more relaxed than he normally is. He didn't realize that Aisha was there. Aisha was there, and she was quiet. She was jealous that Melfina was with Ranma. However, she was trying not to cause a scene. They then got up and left before Aisha could see them. After, Ranma did some exploring the other day and he found a spot where there were barely any city lights. The stars above were shining through. Ranma looked up and smiled. He actually did this back when the trained with Genma. This actually was the one thing he looked forward to. Melfina looked up and she smiled. 

"Wow...that's beautiful!" Melfina said happily.

"It is," Ranma said smiling. "It's a chance I can get to clear my brain." 

"So that's why you're alone, you want to be at your highest peak mentally." 

"That's right," Ranma said. "Also, I just sometimes like the quiet." 

"Oh, it does help to actually just sit and think?" Melfina asked.

"It does," Ranma said. "That's the rare times where you can actually not have to deal with anything." 

"Ranma, would you consider dating one of us?" Melfina asked. 

"Well..." Ranma started, "I don't know..." 

Melfina giggled. She did catch him off guard. Considering he has explained to her about his past Fiancée problems, it felt unnatural to be asked this. Here, however, he wasn't under any threat of being bashed with a mallet, a spatula, a bokken, or any other bunt force trauma instrument. Melfina giggled when she saw Ranma blush. Either way the question stood. Ranma wasn't exactly sure how he felt right about now. Ranma did feel an attraction to Aisha; of course she was older by two years. However, he still had a lot to learn about her. A little bit later, Ranma and Melfina made their way back to the hotel. It wasn't entirely silent. Ranma and Melfina talked with each other about small things. Ranma kept his cool, and by the end of the day, he was now a lot more relaxed. He smiled and took Melfina back to her room. 

"Hey I enjoyed today," Ranma said.

"I did too," Melfina said. "I hope we can do this again sometime." 

"We should invite Aisha, I don't think we should let her be left out," Ranma suggested.

"That's a good idea!" Melfina said excitedly. 

"Thanks for today," Ranma said, "I actually needed to have this sort of moment." 

"You're welcome," Melfina said blushing. 

Ranma, before he knew it, kissed Melfina on her cheek, to cause her to blush. He went back to the guy's room. Melfina opened the door. Aisha was there, she got back when they went to the gardens. She wasn't willing to be a super snoop. The long walk tired her out and she fell asleep. Melfina smiled and closed the door. She decided to get ready for bed, because it was going to be a full day. Ranma came into the room, and he knew Gene was waiting up. He had a scowl on his face ready to rip into Ranma if Melfina wasn't happy. To Gene's surprise Ranma spoke up and told what happened on the date...even to kissing her on the cheek. This caught Starwind off guard. That was something he didn't expect.

"That ended up being a good day," Gene said surprised.

"I know," Ranma said. "The next time Aisha will come with us." 

"I think that's probably a bad idea..." Gene said.

"It's as risk I'm willing to take," Ranma returned. 

"Well...we have a lot to do tomorrow," Gene said. 

"I know it," Ranma said. "We need to get some rest." 

"Yeah well...when you're ready," Gene yawned.

  
Ranma got out of the stuffy clothing and got back into some comfortable clothing. He usually slept in his boxers and a white tank top. He knew there was a lot to do between now and the race up coming. He needed to be at his best. However, him blowing off steam was just what the doctor ordered. As for Gene, he looked to him, and he knew that the same would be true of him. He sighed and he lay in bed. He knew exactly what kind of challenges would be there to greet him at the race. He also knew that things really were going to get interesting, when he hears of something that is quite important before then.


	11. Act 11 the Race Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race through the Heifong system has begun, and already it's starting to get rough.

  
I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito. 

It had finally arrived. It was the day of the race through the Heifong system. With even decent specs a ship could go through this system in three hours or less. However, unlike qualifiers, there was more strategy involved. It was a chess match. It was a chess match with Ranma participating. Everything was getting now getting into the final phases. Of course, Gene got a call on the communicator screen from the El Dorado wishing them a good race. Gene did so in turn. It would had been beyond rude to not return the same. After that, the communications were now only for the race officials, and for the maps. Ranma looked around. He was excited and nervous. Aisha she was just the same. Gene, he was ready to go. Of course he had to start fifteen minutes behind the El Dorado. That would be a short wait. Gene decided to review the course with everybody. 

"Alright, we have this year 7 stations," Gene said. "Each of the stations will get harder as time goes on to test the best of the best." 

"That's a challenge alright," Jim said. 

"Our first station is a given that's 15 minutes away. then after that it's staggered out." Gene said. 

"What's our best course to make it through in the fastest time?" Ranma asked.

"Gilliam, what would be our quickest way?" Gene asked.

"We can shave time off at the fifth check point through this asteroid belt," Gilliam answered. "However, it is risky and there's a secondary checkpoint for those who opt to go around." 

"That's perfect, we will have to make best use of what's around us," Gene then returned. 

"that is correct, I have the parameters set up to maximize our time on the curse," Gilliam returned.

"That's great," Gene said. "I know the El Dorado is doing the same thing." 

"How many stations are there in this race?" Ranma asked.

"Well, according the map, there are ten stations," Jim said. "We they're well spared out in fifteen minute intervals." 

"Right," Aisha said, "that would make things that much more interesting." 

When they were finished and ready to go, the official gave them the two minute warning to get ready to go. They lined up in the starting line. Then when they got the green light and the area was cleared. They took off like a shot, when it was safe. Once out, they went all out to the first check point following the El Dorado. They realized that it would be a rough time. Still, it was early on and they were planning out their race. Ranma looked and he saw the El Dorado going faster than it needed to. He had to speak up. 

"Um guys...I think they're trying to draw us out into using more of our fuel," Ranma said.

"I see that," Gene said.

"What do we do now?" Melfina asked from behind. 

"I say we match them move for move," Gene suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" Jim asked.

"I'm totally sure," Gene said. "Even the El Dorado will have to conserve its fuel at some points in the race." 

"Okay we should be heading for the second check point...it's to the left of the buoy," Melfina addressed.

"That's right, of anybody goes right, they'll be going the longest way around," Aisha observed.

"It's been 30 minutes already?" Ranma asked.

"It has been less than that," Gene said. "We should get going." 

"Hey," Ranma said, "is that supposed to be there?" 

"That's not supposed to be there at all," Gene said. 

"What's that?" Ranma asked.

"That's a stray satellite," Jim returned. 

"We'll have to avoid it," Gene ordered. 

"Is it part of the course?" Melfina asked.

"I'm not sure," Gene said. 

"This is not a part of the course," Gilliam announced. "We will have to move around it, or get disqualified." 

Gene gave the word to go around. It wasn't that difficult to get around. Others opted to go the longer way adding 15 minutes to their travels. Gene was forced to contact the race officials. They did confirm the satellite was not theirs, and touching it was ill-advised. Gene got the race standings, and the El Dorado was still ahead of them by a couple of minutes to actually get through. Still, all of the teams now were alerted to the satellite. There was no reason for it to be there other than it was dead, and out of orbit. Still they made up the time and were within seconds of the El Dorado. Gene smiled happily. 

"Well, this actually worked out great for us," Gene said. 

"I wonder what other surprises are out there." Ranma asked.

"I don't know," Aisha said yawning. 

"Aisha, if you're bored we can have you navigate..." Gene said.

"No thanks," Aisha returned bluntly, "Besides, Melfina is the only one who can do it without getting killed." 

"Guys..." Ranma started.

"Right, we need to stay focused here," Gene remembered.

"We're nearly to the second checkpoint according to the coordinates," Melfina announced. 

"That was quick" Gene said.

"Hey," Ranma spoke up, "is this check point through a satellite installation?" Ranma asked.

"It is," Gene said. "We'll have to slow down." 

'Something's not right here,' Aisha thought. 

"Why do I get the feeling that this is only the beginning of a trial?" Ranma asked.

"It always is," Gene answered.

Ranma and Aisha's gut feeling were proven correct. There were dead satellites that were in the way, and needed to be navigated through...until Ranma discovered a path that was around. It would have taken a couple of minutes longer, the time saved would have been a lot better than trying to navigate through. They took the path around and made it through the checkpoint that was 200 meters away from the satellite field. They were still in the course, they had to get resourceful. After, a while, they found they passed the El Dorado, after they navigated through the field. On the El Dorado, Harry wasn't exactly too happy with this. 

"Ron we could have gone around," Harry said with pure displeasure. 

"I didn't know we could," Ron defended. 

"We lost about fifteen minutes from our time," he said. "We'll have to make it up somehow." 

"It's only going to get harder from here," Ron said. 

"Still, it's very ingenious that Gene figured out to go around quickly," Harry said off-handed.

"Looks like somebody's mood changed in an instant," Ron Remarked. 

"We have little time to mess about," Harry returned from his own navigation tube. 

"The next check point is a doozy..." Ron huffed.

Meanwhile on the Outlaw Star, the crew were working out how to navigate through the next check point that was less than 40 minutes away. Gene looked over to the check points list. and he frowned. He knew he could navigate quickly to the fourth checkpoint no problem. It was the one after that worried him. Aisha noticed and she had to speak up. She knew Gene was going off task, and that would knock them out of the race for good. She also knew (but didn't bring up) that they had heavy money riding on this race. She was going to break Gene out of his concentration, but Ranma beat her to the punch. 

"Gene...we probably should concentrate on the up coming checkpoint instead of going for the one after," Ranma stated.

"That's right," Aisha said, "this one requires our full concentration." 

"Wait, what do you mean?" Gene asked.

"This check point is not easy," Aisha said. 

"According the map," Jim said, "this isn't a straight shot." 

"We have to travel topside of this planet," Aisha noted. 

"That's right!" Jim remembered. "This check point is on this planet's gravitational pull!" 

"We'll have to power through it then," Gene said. 

"Gene," Gilliam started, "A more optimal route, and faster route, is 

"How so?" Gene asked. 

"The checkpoint is between the geographical and magnetic north poles," Gilliam said. "This point here...is where the gravitational pull can help us out." 

"So we follow that dotted red line?" Gene asked.

"We do," Gilliam said. 

"Melfina, plot our course to the checkpoint," Gene said. "Everybody else, let's make sure we are spot on." 

"I'm plotting the course to our checkpoint now," Melfina returned.

They wasted little time to get to the checkpoint. Gene killed the engines as soon as they hit the point spot on. They had to be careful. This planet wasn't exactly the best for any kind of life forms. This would take them at least ten minutes to get through, and their fuel would be saved for the rest of the race. The El Dorado was behind them still by two minutes. They were wondering what was going on, but watched in. They saw the Outlaw Star starting to rock and knock. This was normal, though they made it through the check point and restarted the engines. This ended up putting the El Dorado further behind through another five minutes. 

"We'll have to power through," Ron said. "We can't make it exactly through without plotting the course." 

"Let's not be foolish," Harry said. "I already had it plotted out when you brought it up." 

"You work quickly," Ron said smiling. 

"That's right," Harry returned. "if the others can't figure this out...then they will die point blank." 

"Alright, plot the course," Ron said. "We'll have to get it exactly between both of the geographical and magnetic north..." 

"We'll have to get exactly right...but of course, there will be turbulence," Harry answered. "We're on course...kill the engines."

  
Ron killed the engines and took the same course. They were off by one degree, and they had big troubles. They were forced to go with it, and maintain it. They made it through but it made zero difference in the times. Harry wasn't exactly pleased with what happened, but he chalked it up to an error of judgment on his part. He didn't want to do this again on the hardest check point upcoming...because that would prove to be deadly to all involved. Gene, meanwhile was a lot more calmed. He knew what was coming up. However, he was feeling adventurous. He knew what was going to happen if this actually went through.


	12. Act 11 the Race Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The race ends, and the exciting conclusion begins!

don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito. 

The Crew had made it through three of the most demanding stages in the race. They still were okay and took minimal damage. Otherwise, they had a lot of fuel left over for their needs. They also knew what was going to happen at the next checkpoint. This was the one check point where a lone asteroid was used as a memorial for those who list their lives in the race. Gene saw the Memorial and knew what was going to happen. Ranma saw and he quietly bowed his head. This was something that even in his worst days, he'd still do. After all, it is paying respects to those who lost their lives. The rest of the crew took notice. It was quiet until after they passed it. Ranma had to break the silence to bring everybody back to task. He realized exactly what the two choices were. 

"Guys," Ranma said, "We're coming up to the 4th checkpoint." 

"It's on the far other side," Gene said. "We can take the chance and speed through the center of this belt...or go around." 

"Which would be faster?" Jim asked.

"Going through the field would be faster, but also more dangerous," Melfina answered.

"Well, we won't do much good sitting around here debating," Aisha returned. 

"She's right, we got to decide," Gene warned. 

"Let's go through it," Ranma suggested.

"It's dangerous but it's our only shot," Jim returned.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Aisha cheered. 

"Gene, it's up to you," Melfina said. 

"We're all agreed then," Gene said with a smirk. "Let's blast through this field!" 

They blasted through the field. They had to avoid not only other asteroids, but also chunks of asteroids. They were getting pelted, but they persevered through. Once they made it through the check point, it was now easy sailing. The Outlaw Star would need repairs before they would go out to space. The next checkpoint was an hour away; however the crew was going to make good time. Gene checked the map, and others have added more time to their journey by going around, including the El Dorado. Gene understood. There were very few who wanted to make up serious time that went through the fields, and they made it through just the same. Ranma spoke up. 

"The next check point is straight ahead here," Ranma said. 

"Wait, the next few check points are a straight line aren't they?" Aisha asked.

"They are," Ranma said. "It's now just gunning through." 

"We have enough fuel to make it to the finish," Gene said. 

"Shall I plot the course through the check points?" Gilliam asked.

"Yes," Gene said, "we can't let our guard down with the El Dorado." 

Everybody knew what Gene meant, meanwhile, The El Dorado was trying to catch up with the Outlaw star, which just blasted off. Harry wasn't worried. He knew that he could still win if things aligned in his favor. Ron wasn't too sure. They were zooming through to the check points. Of course, from here, there wasn't a racer that was going to take it easy. Here they were going to go all out. Ron spoke up and he was being realistic. He knew the chances to win were very slim, he also knew that the Outlaw Star somehow had to get disabled in order to actually win. He was still willing to make it close. 

"Harry, you said you wanted a close race, and you got one," Ron said. "We're only about two minutes behind." 

"That's something I was hoping you'd say," Harry answered.

"We got to make up as much time as we can...we can win if we have 30 seconds ahead of the Outlaw Star," Ron informed.

"We are going as fast as we possibly can," Harry returned.

"Honestly," Ron said, "going through the asteroid belt would have been a lot faster." 

"That is true," Harry said, "however, it's beyond foolish."

"Hey, it worked for the Outlaw Star," Ron said flatly.

"What did you just say?" Harry asked, with it sinking in.

"They went through the belt, and we went around," Ron answered honestly. "They made up a lot more time and then some." 

"So it looks like we're not going to win..." Harry said dejected.

"Yeah unless they get disabled and drop out...it's not happening." Ron informed.

"Well, let's make it a very close race then," Harry answered, with his mood changing. 

They throttled through just the same with speed and gusto as the Outlaw star. Both made it through the fifth and sixth check points. The final Checkpoint was the finish line, and it was full-speed ahead. The El Dorado passed, the Outlaw Star and made it first. However, the race is decided on time. Harry and Ron knew they were behind. They needed the Outlaw Star to be 30 seconds behind. It didn't happen. The Outlaw Star was still ahead of them by a total of a minute and fifteen seconds. This ended up being one of the closer races. Outside of the El Dorado, and the Outlaw star, the closest person was about two and a half minutes behind and so on. After all of the racers finished, or were towed back to civilization, the awards were handed out. Gene was beyond happy, as was Harry. Gene spoke up happily.

"Harry, that was a great race," Gene said. "I couldn't have asked for a better finish!" 

"That's great!" Harry said, "It made things a lot more interesting!" 

"There's one thing that I'm ticked about," Harry said. "I didn't win my bet that I'd win." 

'That's right!' Gene thought. 'I had forgotten all about that!'

After the awards ceremony, and getting paid. They went to cash in their bets, and they made a lot of money. In addition for the sponsor's awards, they hit really big. Aisha and Jim took care of that part. After all was said and done the crew was back to the race, there were some things that needed to be taken care of. First the re-supply and repair of the Outlaw Star, and also another thing that needed to be taken care of. Twilight Suzuka came by. She didn't win her bet, but she wasn't foolish to bet all of her money. However, she wanted to just leave and lay low for a while...or more bluntly to take on some jobs with a group. It also didn't hurt that the crew ended up hitting it huge.

"Is there anything you need?" Gene asked.

"Yes," Twilight Suzuka answered, "I do wish to return with you." 

"It's a long way to Sentinel 3," Gene warned.

"I know, but it's time for me to join up with a group," Suzuka said with a smile. 

"Alright," Gene said, "it'll take at least half a day to get everything in order." 

"Great, maybe we can talk about terms of payment since now there's going to be five of us," Suzuka reminded.

"Yes," Gene said, "bluntly, it's going to have to split equally among the five of us." 

"That is acceptable," she smiled. 

"Then we all can go celebrate, all of the supplies, and repairs are paid for," Gene said. "Do you want to come?" 

"I would live to," Twilight Suzuka thankful.

"Maybe we should find a place that's...a little bit of a better quality," Ranma said.

"That actually is a good idea," Gene said. 

Everybody went back to the hotel, and got dressed. Ranma did buy a new suit and tie. He wasn't going to wear the same thing twice. Gene and the others dressed up quite nicely. They did go to a high-end restaurant to celebrate their victory. It felt like the rare good break they had happen, where everything went right. Even if they just only won the sponsor's award, they would have been decently paid. Either way, this race was something that the crew did to actually can work together. After dinner everybody packed their things and went to the Outlaw Star. However, Ranma got splashed with cold water on accident. Suzuka was ready to attack but remembered everything he told her. She just backed off and smiled.

"Well, it seems I nearly kind of forgot our talk a while ago," Suzuka said evenly. 

"It's a curse, but I learned to adapt," Ranma said. 

"That actually is an advantage," Suzuka said smiling. 

"You're not entirely wrong," Saotome said. "I have actually used this form to get out of trouble...sometimes of my own making." 

"It takes a person brave enough to admit when they're wrong, and when they've run their own mouths too much," Suzuka said.

"I will say this," Ranma said, "I have a gut feeling something's going to hit the fan." 

"Trust your instincts," Suzuka really warned. 

"Hey, is everything alright?" Melfina asked.

"Yeah," Ranma returned, "we're good." 

"Okay we're leaving in a few minutes," Melfina warned.

  
They went inside of the Outlaw Star to take their places. Once they got the final clearance, they were able to take off. Ranma's gut feeling was right on. Something was about to happen. There was a band of pirates that came and were tailing them. Ranma didn't know if they were going to pass or attack. Either way, Gene put the ship in red-alert to make sure they were ready. He also had his Casters ready in case he had to board and blast his way through. The Pirate ship did pass them, but Gene was still not convinced everybody was out of danger. He kept an eye out for any other danger. They didn't want to lower their guard. After that, they went back into green alert. Gene still was hyper aware, but he didn't let it know. After a few more minutes, he calmed down and they were back on their way home to Sentinel 3. This time, he knew something was going to happen.


	13. Act 13 Settling down on Sentinel 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew actually gets to finally rest, though the rest ends up being very short lived.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

  
The crew had made it back to Sentinel 3, and they were tired. They were docked and they had used most of their supplies since they were a long way from home. Gene brought everybody back to the base of operations. Twilight Suzuka wasn't exactly too happy about the lodging accommodations, but she decided she was going to make it work. Ranma found the couch and he sat down. He still was in girl form, but was tired. Jim and Aisha came in and sat down. Gene and Melfina were the last ones to come in. Once Gene, closed the door...he was at a loss at what they should be doing. It would be a while before they get any jobs, so he decided to call a meeting to at least get the basic supplies to hold them over, and to be smart with their money. They didn't want to actually flush it down the drain. At the same time however, they still had bills to pay here. Ranma knew what was coming and spoke up. 

"We better pool our money to see how much we'll have after bills," Ranma stated.

"I'm too tired to think about that," Gene said.

"Trust me," Ranma said, "even back then being foolish with money was the worst possible thing." 

"Did you learn this from hard experience?" Twilight Suzuka asked.

"Yes, if you met my former fiancée's older sister, Nabiki...you'd guard your secrets and your wallet book with your life." 

"That's a good idea," Jim said. "We actually need pay our bills for this month." 

"Okay," Gene relented. "We have our space port fee, then our basic utilities...and our food....and our toiletries." 

"It shouldn't be that big of a hit," Jim said. "We do need actually to get some jobs to bring money in." 

"I know, but for now, we'll deal with this in the morning," Gene said. "Right now...we all need to not do this when we're still wound up." 

"That actually is a good idea," Aisha said yawning. 

"Ranma, why don't you show Suzuka to where she'll be sleeping," Gene answered.

"Fine," Ranma said, "come with me then." 

"Okay," Suzuka said, "after this...a hot shower would be appropriate." 

When Suzuka left, Jim asked Gene where he was going. Gene said he was going to take care of the bills right away. He knew things were going to be a bit rough if the water was turned cold, and hey couldn't cook, or have the light to do anything. Jim got out and rushed. Aisha and Melfina looked to each other. They really were confused on what was going on. Aisha she yawned and she made her bedroom. She just wanted to sleep and rest. Melfina decided to rest first and to start to take care of the household chores. Ranma came down and he was back in his boy form. He actually made sure that he splashed himself with hot water. Melfina turned around and saw Ranma come into her view. 

"Oh Ranma! You startled me!" Melfina said of surprise.

"I'm sorry about that," Ranma returned. "I just got finished helping Suzuka get settled in." 

"Okay, I just need to rest and take care of some of the chores," Melfina said. 

"We actually all can do our part," Ranma said. 

"I don't mind it," Melfina said.

'Yup she definitely reminds me of Kasumi,' Ranma thought. 'She's more than willing to take on her own load just for the sake of everybody else.'

"Is everything okay?" Melfina asked.

"Everything's okay," Ranma said with a smile.

"Okay, we should get some rest!" Melfina suggested.

"That's a good idea," Ranma said yawning. 

He went to the couch and he straight out fell asleep. Melfina placed a blanket over him. She heard Gene and Jim come back in from paying the bills. He saw Ranma sleeping on the couch, and decided not to disturb him. Jim also took the cue and closed and locked the door. They went to rest and get some sleep. After about two hours later, Ranma woke up and yawned. He needed to shower and used the bathroom. He did knock first. He didn't hear anything at first. He knocked again, and he didn't hear anything. He let himself in and he got a huge surprise. He saw Melfina come out of the shower wrapped in a towel, and he blushed. He backed out and he waited for her to get finished. Melfina giggled since that was humorous. Aisha saw and she smiled and teased Ranma. 

"Well, I hope you liked what you saw," Aisha said with a huge grin on her face. 

"Um...er...well...." Ranma said flustered. 

"Ranma, I'm so sorry!" Melfina apologized. 

"It's my fault, I thought it was empty," Ranma apologized. 

"I didn't answer right away when you knocked," Melfina returned. 

"Well, it's done now," Aisha said with a grin, and she continued to tease Ranma. "Hey, but if you want to bath together, Saotome...I'm game." 

Ranma blushed deep red when he finally was able to get to the bathroom. Aisha she smiled and went to the kitchen. After, when Ranma came out dressed, and showered. Gene wondered what the commotion was about. Aisha told him what happened. Gene saw Ranma still bushing, but decided not to make more of it. Jim came in and Ranma finally calmed down. Melfina finally was dressed and she went to get dinner ready. Twilight Suzuka came down and she was ready for dinner as well. She sat down as Ranma helped Melfina with the dinner. Once the dinner was served, which was a chicken and rice curry. Gene spoke up, and he just was content to rest. 

"Well, we aren't broke that's the good news," Gene said. "We still would have actually to find some jobs in the next couple of days."

"I know," Jim said. "We can't exactly take small scale jobs and survive." 

"Maybe there's something on the bulletin boards," Melfina suggested.

"A lot of those might be out of date," Ranma said. 

"Actually they're updated in real time," Suzuka said. 

"That's a lot quicker than back in my day," Ranma said.

"Right, the internet wasn't really widely used yet," Jim said. 

Ranma just nodded. He was well aware of what they were saying. He wasn't exactly inclined to try to understand. Once the dinner was over, Melfina cleaned things up. Ranma went to his bedroom and he yawned. It really was a rough day. He needed to get some rest. He also knew that he still had to train with Aisha, because the Catarl Catarl Arts were kicking up high speed. The next morning, it was the usual. Ranma was training with Aisha, and it was hardcore training from the easy stuff. Ranma was able to keep it together, but he was tired, and sweaty. He went to the showers to clean up. He knocked on the door and there was somebody in there. It actually was Twilight Suzuka. 

"Oh, sorry to disturb you," Ranma said through the door. 

"Come on in," Suzuka said. 

Ranma gulped and he went inside. To his surprise, she actually finished with her morning routine, and was on her way out. She smiled and let Ranma clean up. Once she closed the door, he got undressed, and placed his clothing in the dirty clothes basket. He knew he would have to help do the laundry eventually. Once he was in the tub, he was happy. Despite how things were, Starwind and Hawking still had to actually make things comfortable at least for themselves. Ranma perked up and he saw Aisha come in after she got finished cleaning and scrubbing. She was in the hot water, and she wasn't really impressed. However, she was going to take what she could get. Ranma turned around and he saw her boobs directly in his face. 

"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked.

"You're among friends," Aisha smiled. 

"I didn't think you'd actually do it," Ranma blushed.

"Well, get used to it," Aisha said. "You'll be seeing sexy naked women and get used to it." 

"Wait...I'm not going to get chased out, am I?" Ranma asked.

"Nope," Aisha said, "at least not here..." 

Ranma was really confused. He did calm down enough to enjoy the bath. Aisha on the other had did what she could. After, both were out and dressed in different clothing. They were greeted by Melfina who was making breakfast. Jim was helping her out. Gene was at the phone listening in to see if there were any jobs. While he appreciated the rest, he got bored easily. Aisha and Ranma were talking about the training. Gene listened in and nearly cringed. He wondered how Ranma survived the first day of intermediate training. He remembered that Ranma accepted the challenge, and understood things could go horribly wrong. For now, Ranma's martial arts skills were actually improving. A phone call did come in for a job, and Gene took down the information. It was from Ron. He took down the time and place. Gene was not exactly feeling well; he figured it would be some sort of a trap. He decided to take the job. 

"Hey what's going on?" Ranma asked.

"We got a job," Gene said. "After breakfast we will have to mare our way to a restaurant." 

"Wow that was quick!" Aisha said surprised. 

"I know," Gene said, "however, it's a job from Ron..." 

"Are we going to take it?" Jim asked concerned. 

"That depends," Gene said, "if it's anything too outlandish...then there might be a problem."

"I take it we're going to meet Ron then," Ranma said.

"We are, after breakfast...because I'm not going alone." 

"I should maybe come with you," Ranma said. 

"That's a good idea," Gene said. "Ranma Saotome....you're going to see the ass end of a business deal." 

Gene exactly wasn't enamored about what was going on. After breakfast, he and Ranma went to the appointed place. Ran was there, though he was pale white. Gene knew that something got to him. Ron normally is the hothead of the MacDougall brothers. Gene also knows that like Melfina, Harry is an organic android. Either way, Gene got to the table, and he decided he was going to get to business. Ron was scatterbrained at this point. Gene knew something really must have been wrong. He had to hurry and get the information from Ron. Of course, even if it was small-scale...and even if he couldn't stand the MacDougalls...he wasn't about to let Ron lose his cool. If something happened to Harry, then he'd jump in to help him. To Gene, it really wouldn't make since for Harry to suffer the way his dad did.


	14. Act 14 Finding Harry MacDougall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gene and the crew go to find and Rescue Harry after an incident on Blue Heaven.

I don't own Ranma ½, or Outlaw Star. They're owned by Rumiko Takahaishi, and Takehiko Ito.

  
Ron was still flushed when Gene sat at the table. He got his bearings together. Ron and Harry did get separated somehow. In fact, they got jumped. Normally the MacDougalls were to be able to deal with that situation. However, this was a situation that even overwhelmed them. Ron was able to make to Sentinel 3 with the El Dorado, but ultimately...Harry got left behind. He was feeling quite bad about everything that happened. This was the situation that Ron needed to have resolved. Ranma was the first one to speak up. He really knew what it was like to be separated from those he loved. It did seem that things just were crazy. 

"Okay," Ranma said, "so your brother got separated from you."

"Yes," Ron said, "we were at blue heaven." 

"You also were able to get here without him...that's actually impressive," Gene said. 

"What do you mean?" Ron asked annoyed.

"Doesn't Harry usually navigate for you?" Gene asked. 

"He does..." Ron said.

"Listen...I will take this job," Gene said.

"Wait, you're going to take it just like that?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Gene said honestly, "I'm well aware of our history...and I'm not gonna let you lose your brother." 

"Okay...I'll help you in anyway I can," Ron declared.

"Now then, the last place you were at is in Blue Heaven right?" Ranma asked.

"Yes we were," Ron said.

"We can go from there," Gene said.

"Be careful," Ron returned. "There are some shady people there that would do worse than what Harry and I have done." 

"I don't doubt that for a minute," Gene returned. 

Ranma and Gene hurried back and gave the mission to the rest of the crew. While they were suspicious, Gene explained that he wasn't going to just let Harry get killed. He understood, that while they brothers did kill his father, now wasn't the time to hold grudges. He informed everybody that they had to go to Blue heaven. Thankfully, Ranma spoke up and wasn't willing to be left behind. Meanwhile in a warehouse in Blue Heaven, Harry was blindfolded, and he was in the dark. He didn't know exactly what was going on. He did speak up and he really made it clear what needed to be done.   
"We need to find Harry as fast as we can," Gene said. "Time is not on our side."   
"What are we waiting for?" Suzuka asked. "We need to get going."   
With that they hurried to the Outlaw Star. Gene knew something would come up, so he had the supplies ready to go. He also his castor gun to make sure that if there were anything that would require him to use it, he'd have it by his side. He also had his castors to make sure that he was well equipped. Once they made it to the control of the Outlaw Star they had done a system check, and they also made sure that they were cleared for take-off. Though it would prove to be a very bad proposition for them to split up, but Gene determined they'd have to stay in a large enough group. Jim had fashioned a tracking device, and he planted it in Ranma's shirt collar. He tested it before hand...and he knew there was going to be a time where he could come to use it. Once they got the clearance, they were on their way to Blue Heaven. 

"We're on course," Melfina said.

"There's nothing coming our way," Aisha said. "We need to keep our eyes open for anybody who doesn't want us there." 

"I see," Gene said. 

"We are making good time," Jim said. "We should be there quickly, if we don't burn through all of our fuel."

"We'll have to conserve fuel," Gene said. "We will need to not be caught off guard." 

"Do you have any more information?" Suzuka asked.

"All Ron knows is that Harry got snatched, but doesn't know where in Blue Heaven he's at." 

"We're going to need a little bit of help," Aisha said. 

"It's a problem, but we'll need a plan of rescue and attack," Gene warned.

"First, we have to find Harry," Ranma said. "Also we'll have to defeat the kidnappers...bad." 

"We also need a way to track them," Gene said. 

"I got that covered," Jim said. "Don't worry about it." 

"Now that we got that taken care of, we should get going," Gene returned. 

Meanwhile at the warehouse in Blue Heaven, a mysterious group was around Harry. They didn't torture him. They wanted him alive (for now). In fact these kidnappers were cult-like. They knew of Harry and decided that he was going to be a part of their plans. When the time came...they were going to try to sacrifice him to whatever gods they worshiped. The elder of the group he spoke up and his voice wasn't familiar at all. In fact it was totally unfamiliar. He had a nearly melodic baritone voice that Harry was conscious enough to hear for a few seconds. He kept quiet. He didn't want to make things worse.   
"Soon, my pets," the elder said, "the time will come."

"The gods will be pleased with our sacrifice," the youngest member said.

"Yes," he said, "they will be."

"It would be an honor for me to go up for sacrifice," the youngest said.

"No," the elder said, "we are not worthy for the gods." 

"Yes master," the group said, "we are not worthy!"

"We shall prepare plans for the sacrifice," he said. "We must leave Blue Heaven at once."

"Yes master, as is your will!" the group said. 

However, unknown to everybody, the Outlaw star was fast on their way there. With some luck, the Outlaw Star made it to the spaceport in Blue Heaven. Ranma found a restroom, and doused his face with cold water. It was the quickest way for him to turn to girl. Saotome noticed two of the cult members walking by. So did Gene. The two got snatched, and beat up, and taken for their robes. They were tied and locked into the stalls of the bathroom. Ranma looked to Gene. He knew this had to work. The sooner he got to Harry, the better. Plus, Gene also had weapons hidden in case they tried to kill them. This triggered the tracking device Jim was with the others.

"What is that?" Suzuka asked.

"This is a tracking device I planted on Ranma," Jim said. "He doesn't know it because it's tucked in the collar of his shirt." 

"That's ingenious," Suzuka said.

"Yes with this receiver, we can follow him where he goes," Jim returned.

"Hey...where's Gene?" Aisha asked.

"Oh no....maybe I should have brought another..." Jim cursed.

"If he's with Ranma, then we can find him right?" Melfina asked.

"It's a long shot, but we got no choice," Jim answered.

"We better stick together," Aisha said. "The way Harry was snatched can happen to one of us." 

There was agreement to Aisha's statement. Meanwhile, Gene and Ranma both caught up with the cult who was ready to get out of Blue Heaven. They got some serious information, but couldn't relay it back. Still their only hope was for Jim and the others to quickly catch up and bust in. Meanwhile Gene and Ranma both were in the hideout, and they spotted Harry. It felt like they needed to find a reason to attack. They decided to hold back, and do as the cult did. They didn't want to lose their cover. Jim and the others caught up quickly. Jim had to quickly and quietly give the plan to everybody. They were out of ear shot in case anybody tried to listen in. They also had to vary their tracks because they didn't know who was following them. 

"Okay," Jim said quietly, "there's a broken door behind the warehouse...the front is heavily guarded."

"The back is heavily guarded as well I assume," Suzuka said speaking up. 

"It's not, there's nobody there," Jim said speaking up. "However, I do want to make sure we don't get caught and killed."

"I got it," Aisha said. "I think actually our best bet is to get in through the front." 

"Yes, that will be the only way," Jim said. "Plus we do need to draw out whoever that gang is!"

"I have a signal flare," Melfina said.

"We'll need something stronger than that," Jim returned. 

"Oh, I got something more powerful," Aisha said. 

She quietly snuck to the back of the building and lit a couple of M-80 fireworks and tossed them in the dumpster. She quickly ran and got everybody down. There was a very loud explosion that got most of the Cult out of the building. Jim and the others went through the front. They were about to attack but Ranma put his hood down, as did Gene. Jim nodded and understood. They hurried and hid behind boxes as Ranma and Gene regained their cover. However, once the cult came back, they were not amused. The leader he spoke up. He figured that now would be the time to go. He didn't want to stay around if he knew somebody would be messing with him. He spoke up again, and this time he gave the order. 

"Now my pets," he said, "it is time for the sacrifice!" 

"Your word is our will!" the Cult repeated...except for two. 

"I'm sorry but your sacrifice will have to wait another day," a familiar voice rang out. 

"We don't take kindly to the kidnapping of people for the sake of killing them," Ranma said. 

"Who are the intruders?!" The cult leader demanded.

Ranma and Gene threw off the hoods and they were ready to fight. That was the cue for everybody else to come out. The leader was distracted for long enough for where Jim could go and free Harry Quietly. He was haggard in appearance, and he also was not in the best of health. The leader had everybody attack the bounty hunters. This was a straight out brawl. Ranma was able to hold his own with not only his martial arts abilities, but also what he's learned. He decided that he was going to use his Chestnut Fist attack to keep a couple of them at bay, and to Protect Melfina who was able to get to Jim in time. 

"My pets...you're being defeated....!" The leader hissed. 

"I'm sorry," Melfina said, "but you kind of pissed us off when you kidnapped somebody's brother." 

"Who...are you?" The leader asked.

Melfina answered him dead in his balls. That was out of character for her. The leader went down in a heap, and in pain. Aisha meanwhile she was brutally hurting the cult members with brute force. Ranma heard her roar. He smiled knowing full well, that she could take care of herself. After the cult was rounded up and tied up, it was time to turn them in. Ranma and Gene also made a trip to get the other two who snapped out of it and were untied. The leader was tied up separately so he couldn't do anything. A lot of the cult needed a lot of help to get deprogrammed. The two spoke up, after they explained what happened. 

"We really don't remember anything between then and now," one of the ex members said.

"We are sorry that we caused so much trouble," the other said.

"We forgive you two," Gene said. "You're still going to have to get punished." 

"We understand," the two said. 

After the cult was corralled and turned in. It turned out that the leader had a bounty on him. He has pulled this before causing death on other planets, using the same rouse. A lot of the members started coming too after they realized they felt like they were hit by a freight train. Gene explained to them what happened. He also explained to them that they would have been killed just the same and the leader would have move on to find more gullible people. They all took the news as shocking. However, he did realize they didn't remember what happened between then and at the present moment. Gene also realized they still needed some deprogramming, and a debrief. He suggested that instead of them getting punished they get some help. As for the leader, he just was going to get put away. 

"The only pets this guy is going to have are rocks," Gene said. 

"Wow, that really was awful of that guy," Jim said.

"I'm surprised that Melfina kicked a guy down there," Ranma said. 

"Well...I usually don't like to get violent," Melfina said blushing.

"Given the circumstances, it was valid," Ranma said. 

"As for Harry we're going to stay with him until he's well enough to travel," Gene said.

"Right! I have Aisha and Suzuka at the hospital with him right now!" 

"I will make a call to Ron immediately then...and fill out paperwork," Gene said. 

"I'll go to the hospital to check up on them," Ranma said. 

They went to the hospital to check up on Harry. He was reoriented with the world, and he remembered everything that happened. Once Jim came and explained what happened, Harry shook his head. He wasn't exactly surprised. Gene came back and he had good news for everybody. Ron was on his way, with the El Dorado. Gene sent him the best possible path so he wouldn't have much trouble. Harry he smile, and he was quite grateful for everybody. 

"Thanks," Harry said, "another second and I would have been worm chow." 

"It's no problem," Gene said. "After all, I figured something was wrong when Ron was...calm." 

"That quick," Harry said seriously, "I know he's been a hothead." 

"It's strange," Ranma said, "why did they target you of all people." 

"I think it just was random," Harry said. "They did overpower me and Ron, which rarely happens." 

"I think with some rest, food, and medicine, you'll be well enough to travel," Gene said. 

"I know...but it's boring sitting in a hospital bed," Harry complained. 

"Well, that's the doctor's orders," Gene said. "Ron will be here in a few days." 

The doctor came in and gave Harry good news; he only had to stay for a day for observation. However, the crew was chased out; visiting hours were over for non-family. Right when that happened, Ron happened in. He took the fastest route to get to Blue Haven. Gene explained to Ron exactly what happened. He sat down in the chair with the color flushed from his face. Gene told the nurse that Ron was Harry's brother. She nodded and let him stay over. There was no way Ron was going to allow for anybody to get to Harry again. Harry had to assure him that there was nothing to worry about. He also reminded Ron that that was the risk to their jobs. Ron did remember he had to pay Gene, he spoke up. 

"Check your accounts," Ron said. 

"Thank you," Gene said, "however, I'd done this for free considering the circumstances." 

"I know, but you came through," Ron returned.

"Well, we got to get going, or the Nurse will have our ass in a sling," Gene answered.

They left the hospital, and they returned back to the Outlaw Star. They decided it'd be best if they would stay overnight. Gene also decided it was going to be time to find a #4 castor shell. He didn't know where to find one, so he had to think about it. In the mean time, everybody had to come and rest. It felt like this mission really didn't need to happen, but that's the way of the outlaw. Gene was thinking about what to do next. There was a distress beacon that activated for Gilliam and it was an emergency. Gene knew he really had to get out there. Little did he know, he and the crew would be in for the ride of their lives.


End file.
